Rising Shadow
by Molly Renata
Summary: AU, crossover. Nebilim is spreading a dark aura about the land, and Abyssion sets out to avenge his parents' death. Full summary inside. Please R&R. Complete.
1. Heart of Revenge

Rising Shadow: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Summary: The Dark Lord Nebilim is spreading the fog of death through the land; a swordsman by the name of Abyssion goes out to find out how to stop this miasma, and also to avenge the death of his parents.

Along the way, he stumbles upon the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd, and his group, and they work together to help defeat Nebilim and restore peace and tranquility to the land.

Author's Note: This is in an Author's Universe, which means that the storyline has nothing to do with the storyline of the game. There may be a bit of out-of-characterness, and lastly, this is a crossover fic (the concept of miasma is from _Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles_). There may be a few Original Characters, which are characters the author came up with to put in the fanfic.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix. All I own is this storyline, this story and my pathetic, writer's-block-afflicted mind.

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Prologue: Heart of Revenge

_Abyssion's P.O.V._

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Welcome.

I am Abyssion, and this is the tale of the rising shadow.

I am a half-elven magic swordsman. Five years ago, that demonic creature known as Nebilim murdered my parents and forced me to live an outcast life. Now I live in Flanoir with the only family I have left, my sixteen-year-old brother. He is ill and unable to fight, so he remains at home and cares for himself while I go out seeking the cause of this deadly affliction.

The miasma is creeping through the land. It is a mysterious, deadly fog that slowly kills anyone that comes in contact with it. Only monsters are immune to it... the only reason sentient life-forms still exist is because of the great crystals, which radiate the purest form of mana, the form that repels this miasma in the crystal's aura.

Unfortunately, the crystal's aura fades after a year, and not just any mana can replenish it. Only the purest form of mana, such as that in the myrrh tree, can be used to replenish it. We use this myrrh to replenish the crystal's aura. However, the trees are guarded by hordes of monsters, and we must keep our own crystal shard with us as we go out to collect myrrh, since it is the only way to repel the miasma.

I am one of those who work for Flanoir's sake. However, I am also a traveler, and wish to avenge my parents by killing Nebilim and forever sealing away his cursed weapons, the Devil's Arms.

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Author's Note: I know this is really short, but it's just a prologue. There'll be more, trust me.

REVIEW! I COMPELL THEE! O.O


	2. Cruxis and the Eternal Swordsman

Rising Shadow: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Summary: The Dark Lord Nebilim is spreading the fog of death through the land; a swordsman by the name of Abyssion goes out to find out how to stop this miasma, and also to avenge the death of his parents.

Along the way, he stumbles upon the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd, and his group, and they work together to help defeat Nebilim and restore peace and tranquility to the land.

Author's Note: This is in an Author's Universe, which means that the storyline has nothing to do with the storyline of the game. There may be a bit of out-of-characterness, and lastly, this is a crossover fic (the concept of miasma is from _Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles_). There may be a few Original Characters, which are characters the author came up with to put in the fanfic.

Also, there will be some hints at pairings in this fic: the most notable will be LloydxColette, and there'll also be sprinklings of ZelosxSheena, GenisxPresea and, later on, maybe a little KratosxRaine. I won't spoil the rest for you.

There'll be plenty of game spoilers in this fic, however, it is in an Author's Universe, so much of the spoiler content will have to do with relations and such.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix. All I own is this storyline, this story and my pathetic, writer's-block-afflicted mind.

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Chapter 1: Cruxis and the Eternal Swordsman

_Third-Person P.O.V._

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Abyssion had never seen the Eternal Swordsman; he had always assumed he would never see the famed hero of yore, seeing as few from Flanoir ever got to see such famous people. Abyssion had always thought life in Flanoir was boring, but his views were soon going to change.

His first _run_-in with the Eternal Swordsman occurred in Meltokio.

**abc**

"WHOA! Watch where you're going!"

Abyssion had been stopped in his tracks by a teenage boy wearing red; the magic swordsman had not been paying attention to what was going on, and he somehow ended up colliding with the human.

Quickly, Abyssion looked up, taking in the features of the human. There were two belts around his waist; each one held a scabbard, and the hilts of two very peculiar swords were protruding from those scabbards.

"My greatest apologies," Abyssion said, looking into the human's eyes. "What is your name?"

"Give me your name, and I shall give you mine," the human replied.

_I think I've heard that line somewhere before..._ Abyssion thought.

"My name is Abyssion," the magic swordsman said. "You're quite the clever young boy, I see."

"I'm Lloyd," the human said. "Lloyd Irving... or rather," he glanced at another human standing beside him. "Lloyd Aurion."

"Lloyd..." Abyssion said quietly to himself as his mind drifted off. _Could that be..._

"And now, I have a question I'd like to ask _you_," the human who called himself Lloyd said, snapping Abyssion out of his trance. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm with the Flanoir group," Abyssion replied. "I'm second in command, so to speak. What is your occupation?"

"Second in command in Team Flanoir," Lloyd said to himself quietly; then, he turned to Abyssion. "I'm just... wandering around, y'know?"

"Those swords..." Abyssion said, his gaze shifting. "Are they the Flamberge... and the Vorpal Sword?"

"You sure know a lot about swords," Lloyd said with a chuckle. "Yep, they are..." he gestured to a ring of Aionis he was wearing. "...and they're also the Eternal Sword."

"So you're the Eternal Swordsman..." Abyssion said in awe. "I'm pleased to meet you, Sir Lloyd."

"Whoa, quit it with the formalities," Lloyd said, blushing slightly. "You seemed like an ordinary traveler at first too. But somehow I feel you're not normal..." his tone changed. "...you're radiating a peculiar aura..."

"Oh, yeah, that," Abyssion said. "I'm wearing an Exsphere, and it seems this one contains the soul of a servant of Nebilim. I've been wanting to get rid of it, but I've never brought myself to do it."

"A servant of Nebilim..." Lloyd said, his tone changing to one of anger. "That... that bastard killed my mother... in cold blood..."

"So your mother was killed by Nebilim as well," Abyssion said. "However, as it seems, you still have your father... I have neither. All I have left is a sickly brother living in Flanoir."

"Ah, I see," Lloyd said, lowering his head. "I... I'm sorry. I didn't realize your situation..." then, he raised his head again. "If the others of the Flanoir band are willing to help protect the city, would you be willing to join us?"

"I won't be returning to Flanoir for a while," Abyssion replied. "I'll gladly join your group. Thank you, Lloyd."

"Then, I suppose we should introduce ourselves," another human of the band said, stepping forward. "I am Kratos Aurion... Lloyd's father."

"I'm Genis," a white-haired half-elf boy said. "And this," he gestured to another half-elf, "is Raine, my sister."

"Pleased to meet you," the one known as Raine said, bowing.

"I am Presea," a pink-haired human girl said. "Presea Combatir. Thank you for your assistance."

"I'm The Great Zelos Wilder," a tall, red-haired human male said, stepping forward. "And this is my voluptuous hunny, Sheena Fujibayashi." He gestured to a human female with black hair.

Abyssion chuckled at the title Zelos gave himself, while Sheena smacked the opposing redhead.

"I'm Colette Brunel," a teenage human female said, stepping forward and next to Lloyd. "And I... whoops!" she tripped.

The others in the group stared at her and sweatdropped.

"She's a bit clumsy," Lloyd said. "Don't worry about it."

As Colette got back up, she said, "I'm sorry about that..."

Lloyd rolled his eyes.

"She also apologizes," Genis said. "She apologizes for tripping, she apologizes for saying things, she apologizes for apologizing... she apologizes for everything."

"Yeah, you're right," Colette said, glancing at Genis. "I'm sorry."

Genis rolled his eyes, following Lloyd's example.

It was then that Kratos noted the absence of a member of their group. "Where's Regal?"

"Ah, he probably just ran off somewhere," Zelos replied. "Who knows what that guy's up to anymore."

"Thank you," Abyssion said. "I will do my best to aid you in your quest... whether it be to simply protect a city, or to destroy Nebilim himself."

"All right," Lloyd said, smiling. "Welcome to the group, Abyssion!"

"We should get going," Kratos commented.

"Tower of Salvation, right?" Lloyd said, turning to face Kratos.

"It's good that you remember some things," Kratos said, smiling.

"Hold on a minute," Abyssion said. "Isn't the Tower of Salvation the gateway to Derris-Kharlan? Why would you need to go there?"

"Mithos is on Derris-Kharlan," Lloyd replied, turning. "Mithos is the leader of Cruxis. We've been meaning to form a treaty of sorts with him for some time."

"The leader of Cruxis..." Abyssion repeated slowly. "I thought Cruxis was the organization composed entirely of angels that watch over the world and protect it from harm." His tone changed. "They've been slacking off lately..."

"You're right about the angels part," Lloyd said. "However, they don't protect the world, they're basically just a little clan that live on Derris-Kharlan. Sometimes they're called for their services in war, but only certain people can summon their aid... only great heroes or angels."

"I know you're a great hero," Abyssion said. "None of the others look that special, though. Will they be allowed into Castle Vinheim for your sake?"

"Yes," Lloyd replied. "Well, of course, not all of us are normal. If you'll notice, some of us have Cruxis Crystals..." he summoned forth his wings. "...and thus are angels ourselves. It isn't that difficult to comprehend."

Abyssion looked shocked. "I didn't know you were angels as well..."

"Not all of us," Lloyd said. "Just myself, Kratos, Zelos and Colette. The rest of us just have normal Exspheres."

"And you say you're going to form a treaty with the leader of Cruxis," Abyssion said. "Will I be allowed in as well?"

"I doubt it," Kratos replied. "However, I can probably get you in. I was once of Cruxis..."

"Thank you," Abyssion stated, bowing. "I am in your debt."

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Author's Note: My biggest beef with Cruxis was the fact that their members are so cool (I'm not talking about the Desians, blech), yet they were the baddies in the game. However, this time those totally awesome Angel Swordians are going to be working on MY side!

(SMACK)

...okay, maybe I'm a little TOO cheery.


	3. Castle Vinheim

Rising Shadow: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Summary: The Dark Lord Nebilim is spreading the fog of death through the land; a swordsman by the name of Abyssion goes out to find out how to stop this miasma, and also to avenge the death of his parents.

Along the way, he stumbles upon the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd, and his group, and they work together to help defeat Nebilim and restore peace and tranquility to the land.

Author's Note: This is in an Author's Universe, which means that the storyline has nothing to do with the storyline of the game. There may be a bit of out-of-characterness, and lastly, this is a crossover fic (the concept of miasma is from _Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles_). There may be a few Original Characters, which are characters the author came up with to put in the fanfic.

Also, there will be some hints at pairings in this fic: the most notable will be LloydxColette, and there'll also be sprinklings of ZelosxSheena, GenisxPresea and, later on, maybe a little KratosxRaine. I won't spoil the rest for you.

There'll be plenty of game spoilers in this fic, however, it is in an Author's Universe, so much of the spoiler content will have to do with relations and such.

Thank you for the review(s).

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix. All I own is this storyline, this story and my pathetic, writer's-block-afflicted mind.

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Chapter 2: Castle Vinheim

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Once the group had arrived at Welgaia, Lloyd stepped forward and began to speak with the guard on duty.

"We request a meeting with Mithos," the Eternal Swordsman said.

"Very well," the guard said, bowing. "I shall speak with Lord Mithos and see if he accepts your request. You wait here until I am finished."

Lloyd nodded to the angel, who turned and entered the transporter that led to Vinheim. While the group was waiting, they discussed various matters.

"Why do you call yourself Lloyd Irving?" Abyssion asked once Lloyd had returned to the group.

"It's a really long story," Lloyd replied. "Kratos, my father, was once of Cruxis, but he eventually decided that he didn't want to be a member anymore, so he descended upon Symphonia. While he was there, he encountered my mother, Anna, who had an Exsphere equipped without a Key Crest."

"Yes," Kratos said. "Eventually, I fell in love with Anna, and we became lovers. However, we were pursued by the Desians, who Anna had escaped from. Lloyd was born, and for three years, we continued to live a life on the run, attempting to evade the Desians."

"And then, Nebilim came along," Lloyd continued, his tone changing. "Nebilim tore my parents apart and killed Anna right where she stood... right at the outskirts of the Desian base near Iselia. Noishe, Anna's Exsphere, and myself fell down the cliff, where we were rescued by a dwarf named Dirk."

"I could not retrieve them," Kratos continued. "I returned to Cruxis, working as a typical mercenary angel, until I was called down on behalf of someone named Lloyd who possessed an Exsphere. It was then that I had discovered he was still alive."

"So this Dirk raised you for fourteen years," Abyssion said, studying Lloyd's body. "I'd imagine since you'd been adopted by him, you'd name yourself after him... so Dirk's last name is Irving?"

"Precisely," Lloyd replied. "I called him my father for the longest time, until I met Kratos. It didn't take long to discern who was my real father." He winked.

"While I was in Cruxis, I was promoted to the rank of Seraph," Kratos said, drifting back into his story. "I was actually quite high-ranking before I decided to leave Cruxis."

"Apparently, Kratos and Mithos were very good friends," Colette said. "Mithos decided to pass on the Eternal Sword to Lloyd, since Lloyd seemed a worthy candidate... and besides, he already had the Flamberge and the Vorpal Sword, which he inherited from his two fathers."

"The Flamberge used to be Kratos' sword," Abyssion said. "And I heard that someone had forged a blade of ice named the Vorpal Sword... but I had no idea Dirk had possessed that sword. Thank you for telling me your story, Lloyd."

"Anytime," Lloyd said, smiling. Then, he turned to the transporter. "The guard's coming back. We should get ready for any occurrences."

Sure enough, the angel soon returned to the group, and told them Mithos was ready to meet them. The force field before the transporter fell, and the group continued on to Vinheim.

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"I see you are well," Mithos said, glancing at Kratos. "Now I must ask, why did you leave Cruxis?"

"I left Cruxis because of Lloyd," Kratos replied simply.

"Now you desire to make a treaty with me?" Mithos asked, his gaze shifting to Lloyd.

"Yes," Lloyd replied. "We need your help in defeating Nebilim."

"Nebilim..." Mithos said quietly, lowering his head. "I know how you feel, Lloyd... Nebilim killed my parents as well... and my sister..."

"So the rumor was true," Lloyd said. "I'd heard Martel had been killed by Nebilim as one of the lives taken to increase his power... so," his tone changed, "will you help us?"

"Of course," Mithos replied. "I'll do anything to get rid of that creature..."

"So you'll be our ally," Lloyd said, smiling. "Thank you."

"Very well," Mithos said. "If you like, I can introduce you to a few of my other acquaintances."

"Save the formalities for later," Lloyd said. "I think we should start our planning first."

Mithos sighed. "I see you're still as informal as ever..." then, he turned and started typing things on what appeared to be a computer. "I don't think I'll get the others to trust you unless they know you."

Not long after, two other seraphim entered the room; one resembled an older version of Mithos and floated slightly above the ground on purple wings, and the other was a tall, slender half-elf male with blue hair. The latter refused to show his wings, however.

Noticing their presence, Lloyd turned to face them. "Oh, hello you two. I guess Mithos is pretty persistent when it comes to showing off."

"Yes, you could say that," the purple-winged seraph said.

"He doesn't have a first name," Mithos said, gesturing to the purple-winged seraph. "We just call him Yggdrasill." He then pointed at the blue-haired seraph. "He's Yuan. He was in love with Martel before she died. I don't know if he's developed any other crushes lately." He winked.

"I see you're still a brat," Yuan muttered, glaring at Mithos.

"Wait a minute," Lloyd said, turning to Mithos. "Is Yggdrasill in any way related to you?"

"He's my brother," Mithos replied. "He was Martel's fraternal twin. Somehow he managed to escape the same fate she had."

"The Four Seraphim of Cruxis are composed of Mithos, Kratos, Yggdrasill and myself," Yuan said. "Although, ever since Kratos left Cruxis, all sorts of angels have been pushing for the position amongst the Four Seraphim."

"One of those who was trying to get promoted was Remiel," Yggdrasill continued. "You may know of Remiel as Colette's father... it's too bad he couldn't even stay with Cruxis."

"Remiel left Cruxis after I returned," Kratos explained. "We haven't heard from him since. We assume he's gone off to search for Colette."

"I think we saw him somewhere around Triet," Lloyd said, turning to Kratos. "He was complaining about the fact that he'd lost his daughter... or something. I think Colette was somewhere else at the time."

"So that means our current goals are to find Remiel and defeat Nebilim," Abyssion said. "It sounds like it's going to be a difficult task."

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot about you," Lloyd said, turning to Abyssion. "I'm sorry about that." He turned back to Mithos. "I take it you heard him?"

"Yes, I did," Mithos replied. "I've heard of him before. Abyssion, right?"

"Yes, that is me," Abyssion said. "I'm with Lloyd and the others."

"Ah, I don't mind," Mithos said. "As long as you'll help Lloyd, I'll help you. And yes, you have our goals down right... or at least, finding Remiel is your goal."

"Yes," Colette said. "I'm going to help the others find Remiel. And I hope you help too."

"Well then, we know what to do now," Mithos said. Then, he posed. "Off to the region of Sylvarant!"

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Author's Note: This chapter may require a bit of explaining.

1. The Desians are working with Nebilim, and Pronyma is Nebilim's right-hand person.

2. I decided to alter the story a bit so that Yggdrasill was Mithos' brother and not his alternate form.

3. I like Remiel, so I decided to alter the story (again) to make him Colette's father (like they thought he was from the start in the game). I'll explain the whole race thing later, since I'm a lazy bum.

And now, I MUST ASK THEE TO REVIEW! O.O


	4. Fallen Angels

Rising Shadow: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Summary: The Dark Lord Nebilim is spreading the fog of death through the land; a swordsman by the name of Abyssion goes out to find out how to stop this miasma, and also to avenge the death of his parents.

Along the way, he stumbles upon the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd, and his group, and they work together to help defeat Nebilim and restore peace and tranquility to the land.

Author's Note: This is in an Author's Universe, which means that the storyline has nothing to do with the storyline of the game. There may be a bit of out-of-characterness, and lastly, this is a crossover fic (the concept of miasma is from _Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles_). There may be a few Original Characters, which are characters the author came up with to put in the fanfic.

Also, there will be some hints at pairings in this fic: the most notable will be LloydxColette, and there'll also be sprinklings of ZelosxSheena, GenisxPresea and, later on, maybe a little KratosxRaine. I won't spoil the rest for you.

There'll be plenty of game spoilers in this fic, however, it is in an Author's Universe, so much of the spoiler content will have to do with relations and such.

Thank you for the review(s).

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix. All I own is this storyline, this story and my pathetic, writer's-block-afflicted mind.

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Chapter 3: Fallen Angels

_Abyssion's P.O.V._

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Gaoracchia Forest was dead. And no, I don't mean dead as in the way it was normally... I mean _dead_. There was no sign of life anywhere... even the vast overhanging trees had died, shriveling up in the deathgrip of the miasma.

But something seemed off about this place. There were no monsters... all that remained were the bloodied remnants of a handful of travelers and random monster corpses. And the forest seemed to radiate some kind of evil aura... almost as if we were around the Devil's Arms themselves.

We progressed through the forest, using the shard of a crystal to keep the miasma at bay. There had been some various plants blocking the way, but they had all been burned away by some sort of mysterious hellfire. I would look to my left and to my right, but nowhere could I find any trace of life. Even the undead had been fought back and sent back to the earth from which they came, and the vegetation had all died out due to either some sort of creature wreaking havoc or the unusually powerful grip of the miasma.

Suddenly, we were interrupted from our slow progress by a banshee-like shriek, immediately followed by the voice of some sort of demonic creature.

"Come forth, young ones... come forth, so that you may be devoured by the darkness."

I hesitantly stepped forward, seeking any sign of life. And when I rose my head to look at the creature that had spoke, I discovered that grotesque is too mild a word to describe it.

This hellish being seemed to be composed of the decomposing remnants of a dead ogre. However, it had the head of some sort of demonic beast, with two horns jutting from the back of its skull and a long, pointed, drake-like snout. It glared at me with vicious red eyes, which caused me to involuntarily step back, not wishing to endure the pain of watching this creature's gaze.

"I do not wish to fight with such pathetic creatures as you," the creature said in its hellish voice. "I desire only to destroy that crystal shard that you carry. That way... you will be consumed by the darkness, and you will become one of us."

"I would think that I'd be smart enough not to submit to the likes of you," Kratos said from the back. "Creatures such as yourself have no place in this world."

It was then that I noticed the wings protruding from the creature's back; they, like Mithos' angel swordians' wings, were jet black, but unlike the wings of pure angels, they seemed to be decomposing, with feathers falling out left and right. Bloodied flesh was visible between the feathers.

"It is a fallen angel," I said, glancing back at the others. "We have to defeat it somehow, or it'll take us by force."

"Gotcha," Lloyd said, jumping forward. "Let's see if we can handle this."

"I will not resist battle if it is what you desire," the creature said, drawing two massive, twisted swords. "But be aware that you will never defeat me!"

**abc**

_Third-Person P.O.V._

**abc**

Abyssion leaped back just in time to avoid one of the foe's massive blades; he countered with a Demon Fang, and then jumped over the creature's head and struck it in the back with a Sonic Thrust.

Lloyd, meanwhile, had taken up attacking it from the side, and would send the occasional Sword Rain or Sonic Thrust at it.

As Genis loosed an Air Thrust attack, Colette unleashed a Torrential Para Ball; both attacks struck true, leaving the opponent dazed. Kratos took this opportunity to run in and strike with a Hurricane Thrust, immediately followed by Fierce Demon Fang.

Zelos then proceeded to cast Grave, which took the opponent completely by surprise; he then rushed in and used Hell Pyre, followed by Lightning Blade.

It was then that the fallen angel prepared its attack.

First, a circle of dark mana surrounding the creature exploded outward, knocking back the members of the group. Then, the creature launched into a horizontal version of Tempest, whirling its two swords around in a massive circle. Once its opponents had been knocked back and the attack had struck true, the creature proceeded to cast Dark Sphere on Raine, which knocked her even further back and out of the crystal's aura.

Once everyone had finally regained their composture, they began quietly discussing a change of plans. Kratos and Abyssion took to attacking the left side of the beast, while Lloyd and Zelos attacked the left side of the foe. Presea attacked the creature head-on, and Colette attacked from behind. Genis and Raine stuck to pelting the foe with magic. However, in the midst of all the confusion, they had lost track of Sheena.

Then, everything stopped.

Presea was using Mass Devastation, Kratos was using Light Spear Cannon, Abyssion was using Fierce Demon Fang, Lloyd was using Sword Rain: Alpha, Zelos was using Super Sonic Thrust, Colette was using Ray Satellite, Genis was using Flame Lance, and Raine was using Photon.

Then, out of nowhere, Sheena came, summoning the Summon Spirit of Light, Luna, and her companion, Aska. The two Summon Spirits began pummeling the foe with light attacks, which severely drained its power and forced it to fall back.

The attacks of the other members of the group struck true, knocking the opponent down and out.

"That was certainly unexpected," Lloyd commented, glancing at the ninja/summoner.

"I aim to please," Sheena said, fanning herself with her cards.

"That was a rough battle," Raine said, dusting herself off. "I never expected it to be this difficult."

"But then Sheena came in and saved us all," Colette said, waving her wings happily. Then, she turned to the summoner. "Thanks for saving us again!"

"Ah, it was nothing," Sheena said. "It's just a matter of knowing when to attack and what to attack with."

"Score one for the Great-Chested Sheena," Zelos said, grinning. "And all of her voluptuous companions."

The females of the group glared at Zelos while the males sweatdropped.

"That's the last time I want to hear him calling _me_ voluptuous," Lloyd muttered, shaking his head. "At least it sounds somewhat _normal_ when he says it to a female."

"I wasn't referring to you!" Zelos complained.

Kratos sighed in annoyance. "Shall we get going?"

"Ah, whatever," Sheena said. "You're always rushing things... pushing us along to finish the quest and all. It's not like we don't have another three weeks to complete it in."

"Nevertheless, it is imperative that we find Remiel as soon as possible," Kratos said. "Then, we must finish our other quest - the one to find and destroy Nebilim before he can find and destroy _us_."

"Yeah, you have a point," Lloyd said. "Well, let's get going. We still have all of Gaoracchia Forest to handle." Then, he sighed. "I hate having to say this damned place's name..."

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Author's Note: In case you're wondering, Abyssion is carrying the crystal shard, and he wears it as a pendant on his necklace.

Abyssion knows all the techs that Kratos and Zelos learn, with the inclusion of a few third-level techs.


	5. Learning of a Legend

Rising Shadow: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Summary: The Dark Lord Nebilim is spreading the fog of death through the land; a swordsman by the name of Abyssion goes out to find out how to stop this miasma, and also to avenge the death of his parents.

Along the way, he stumbles upon the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd, and his group, and they work together to help defeat Nebilim and restore peace and tranquility to the land.

Author's Note: This is in an Author's Universe, which means that the storyline has nothing to do with the storyline of the game. There may be a bit of out-of-characterness, and lastly, this is a crossover fic (the concept of miasma is from _Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles_). There may be a few Original Characters, which are characters the author came up with to put in the fanfic.

Also, there will be some hints at pairings in this fic (sometimes a little more than hints ;) ): the most notable will be LloydxColette, and there'll also be sprinklings of ZelosxSheena, GenisxPresea and, later on, maybe a little KratosxRaine. I won't spoil the rest for you.

There'll be plenty of game spoilers in this fic, however, it is in an Author's Universe, so much of the spoiler content will have to do with relations and such.

Thank you for the review(s).

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix. All I own is this storyline, this story and my pathetic, writer's-block-afflicted mind.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Chapter 4: Learning of a Legend

_Abyssion's P.O.V._

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

As we traveled westward, we stopped in Asgard to rest and replenish ourselves. While we were in the city, I heard a legend that had been passed down in Asgard for centuries.

_"Around the world, in seven distant temples, are the seven seals that guard Nebilim. It is said that one of the Devil's Arms resides at each seal; the eighth is found on the path to Nebilim's stronghold, and the ninth is in the possession of Nebilim himself._

_The first seal is located west of Triet; the place burns with Efreet's hellfire, and it is said that the Gates of Hell lay there. The fallen angel guardians at the seal use the flames of hell to destroy any and all opposition._

_The second seal is located within the waters of Lake Umacy; an ancient temple of Nebilim was constructed there, and the waters of the lake cannot enter and flood the temple. Located within the seal is the Soul Eater, the cursed blade that was forged by one of Nebilim's ancestors._

_The third seal is located near the Balacruf Mausoleum; tornadic winds spin within the temple, and great storm clouds loom over it. Within the seal is Diablos, the mighty ax that is said to bite into its victims._

_The fourth seal is located north of the Tower of Mana; within it, lightning flashes, and there are dark rooms illuminated by the lightning and shaken by the roar of thunder. At the seal lays the Evil Eye, which gazes upon the weak and makes them fall with one simple glance._

_The fifth seal is located near the Temple of Earth; it is said that a fault line runs beneath the temple, and its collapse has been prevented by the fallen angels that guard the seal. Within the seal is Fafnir, a dagger that was once used to drain the blood of those unworthy... it has taken many lives._

_The sixth seal is located west of Flanoir, beneath the snow; the freezing chill of the temple instantly kills those who possess no Exsphere. The seal contains the Heart of Chaos, a cursed staff that was once used to summon evil spirits from the underworld._

_The seventh seal is located near the Temple of Darkness; no light may reach the innards of the temple, and the monsters that lurk there are large and ferocious. Within the seal lies the Disaster, which is capable of summoning forth great earthquakes and massive tornadoes with a few simple, quiet words._

_After the seven seals have been released, the path to Nebilim's stronghold will be opened; the Tower of Destruction shall rise from the ground south of Hima, and the cursed weapon Apocalypse shall appear at the tower's gates. The path to the top is filled with treachery; those few who have managed to conquer the evil on the way have been crushed by the evil power that lives within this tower._

_The Dark Lord Nebilim, the source of miasma itself and the cursed being who resides in the tower, possesses the twin blade that bears his name; he will not give up so easily, and it will take bloodshed and sacrifice to defeat him. He wishes for nothing more than to take this world for himself and transform it into a raging world of miasma and darkness._

_Those who choose to fight Nebilim shall perish."_

It sounds like a pretty creepy tale, but to tell the truth, it also sounds kinda boring. I mean, Lloyd possesses the Eternal Sword, which has the power to rend the world asunder, and we have a number of seraphim and angels on our side, which may accompany us on our journey.

Well, if we get in trouble on our journey, we can always contact Mithos and see if he can send us some aid. I mean, Vinheim is totally full of angels, not to mention Welgaia and Derris-Kharlan in general. And I doubt he'd refuse to spare us some 'guardian angels'.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

_Third-Person P.O.V._

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

That night, the group stayed in Asgard; they decided to split up for the night, forming three separate groups that would each stay at one of the inns in Asgard.

Lloyd, Colette and Abyssion stayed at the Fresco; Abyssion had his own room, and Lloyd and Colette shared a room.

However, Lloyd had difficulty sleeping. Colette noticed this and calmly walked over to him, taking his hand in her own.

"What's wrong?" the young angel asked. "You seem to be having trouble sleeping."

"Ah, I was just thinking," Lloyd replied. "I mean, we have to release seven seals to open the path to the Tower... this is gonna be a hard journey."

"I understand," Colette said. "Maybe you'd like me to accompany you for tonight? It might help you sleep."

Lloyd willingly obliged, allowing the angel to climb into bed with him. And while he was there, curled up with Colette, he felt like he was in heaven.

It was then that Lloyd realized... he really liked Colette. Perhaps... even loved her.

"You know what, Colette," Lloyd said, keeping his gaze fixed on the girl that lay beside him. "I've been thinking, maybe there is such a thing as true love... I never thought I'd experience it myself, but... I think I love you."

"Oh, thank you," Colette said, smiling her classic smile. "I was afraid to tell you how I felt, considering the fact that you were always so defiant and I thought you'd reject me... but I feel I've always loved you, from the time I first met you."

"No, thank _you_," Lloyd said, pulling Colette closer. "Thank you for not rejecting me... you've given me the strength to save our friends and this world a number of times, and I'm glad you feel for me the same way I do..."

With that, Lloyd closed the gap between them with a soft kiss; this did not last long, and it did not deepen, but it served to forge a bond between them all the same.

Once the kiss was broken, Lloyd said, "You're my little blue-eyed angel... and I love you so dearly..."

"Yes, you're right," Colette said softly. "You're loved by your father, but I love you in such a different way... a way neither of us have experienced before."

They eventually drifted off to sleep in each other's arms, and the chill of the night was barely noticeable in the warmth they emitted together.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Author's Note: Yes, a bit of fluff to spice up this fic! This'll probably be the only fluff for a while, so be on the lookout.

I know it's short, but I'm not exactly the most inspired person around. I just got this random burst of inspiration and that inspired me to write this. Wow, I use the word 'inspire' a lot! T.T

Anyway, PLEASE review... reviews inspire me to write more!


	6. The First Seal: Flames of Hell

Rising Shadow: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Summary: The Dark Lord Nebilim is spreading the fog of death through the land; a swordsman by the name of Abyssion goes out to find out how to stop this miasma, and also to avenge the death of his parents.

Along the way, he stumbles upon the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd, and his group, and they work together to help defeat Nebilim and restore peace and tranquility to the land.

Author's Note: This is in an Author's Universe, which means that the storyline has nothing to do with the storyline of the game. There may be a bit of out-of-characterness, and lastly, this is a crossover fic (the concept of miasma is from _Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles_). There may be a few Original Characters, which are characters the author came up with to put in the fanfic.

Also, there will be some hints at pairings in this fic (sometimes a little more than hints ;) ): the most notable will be LloydxColette, and there'll also be sprinklings of ZelosxSheena, GenisxPresea and, later on, maybe a little KratosxRaine. I won't spoil the rest for you.

There'll be plenty of game spoilers in this fic, however, it is in an Author's Universe, so much of the spoiler content will have to do with relations and such.

Thank you for the review(s).

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix. All I own is this storyline, this story and my pathetic, writer's-block-afflicted mind.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Chapter 5: The First Seal: Flames of Hell

_Third-Person P.O.V._

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

The group progressed westward, crossing the ocean to the first continent. There, they continued to head westward until they reached Triet.

They stopped for a while in Triet to stock up on supplies, then they headed on westward to the first seal.

**abc**

"This is it, guys," Lloyd said as they entered the dark temple carved in the mountain. "We can't turn back now. We're going to break all seven seals and fight Nebilim... and we're going to defeat him."

"One can not always be sure of victory," a deep, familiar voice said. "As a matter of fact, your opponent is likely more powerful than you could ever hope to be at this point."

"Wow, that's the most I've heard him say in one breath," Genis remarked, glancing over his shoulder. "I don't think he's ever stated the obvious before either."

The others in the group immediately turned, and came face-to-face with the blue-eyed convict they had met so long ago.

"Regal," Lloyd said. "I was wondering where you went."

"I came to inform you of Nebilim's new plans," Regal said calmly. "The Desians have decided to chase after you in an attempt to subdue you and prevent you from finishing your journey. Cruxis is sending out reinforcements to prevent your destruction."

"So this is the one you spoke of in Meltokio," Abyssion said quietly. "I've never seen him before. May I ask what his significance in this party is?"

"He's the president of a very important company," Lloyd replied. "Most of the time he's occupied with it, so he has little time to do anything else, but he comes to help us every so often."

"I see," Abyssion said. "Well then, let us proceed."

"I shall take my leave as well," Regal said. "I have to assist somebody... but I promise I'll return to you someday."

Lloyd nodded and waved goodbye to the convict, who left swiftly.

"We have an arduous journey ahead of us," Abyssion said. "We should watch out while we're in the temple."

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

The group progressed rather uneventfully, and after a time they came upon the seal. Encased in a crystalline sphere floating above the altar was a peculiar card, like those that Sheena wielded.

Lloyd attempted to progress, but he was knocked back forcefully by a force field that conveniently happened to appear around the seal.

_You possess pure souls,_ a voice said. _You cannot take this weapon._

"I guess this means we'll have to fight," Zelos said, shaking his head. "Well, I wasn't really expecting this to happen, but I guess we're gonna have to do it one way or another."

"You knew we'd have to fight the seal guardian," Abyssion said. "If we don't, we can't release the seal."

"Yeah, but I hoped it'd be easier," Zelos said. "I mean, come on, we have to fight left and right day and night. It's just not fair."

"There's no time for that," Lloyd said, drawing his swords. "The seal guardian's attacking!"

As everyone drew their weapons, there was a massive burst of flame, and the room's temperature increased. The group began to step back as a massive creature began to materialize before them; only after it had fully materialized were they able to discern just how hellish this being was.

The general shape of the creature was rather feline; its head and body were like those of a lioness, and it had a long tail that lashed back and forth. Out of its back and neck rose towering crystalline spikes, and blades of steel rose from its tail. The creature's claws were long and sharp, perhaps long enough to impale a full-grown man and rend him asunder. The creature's entire body was blood red, with empty black eyes that seemed soulless. Wings of pure fire rose from its back, flapping slowly and unleashing a torrent of flame upon the room.

On either side of the beast were what appeared to be human skeletons with wings; their eyes glowed with a fiery light, and their charcoal-black wings were burning with a similar fire.

"Ktugachdon and two flame angels," Presea stated emotionlessly. "Probability of success is fifty-two percent."

"This Ktugachdon seems possessed," Abyssion commented. "Most of the time they at least have some emotion, but this one seems to radiate the aura of a killing beast. Perhaps it's the Cruxis Crystal..."

He was cut off by a massive roar from the Ktugachdon; its fiery breath scorched the ceiling, and the roar shook the temple to its foundation.

"I have a feeling this is gonna be a tough battle," Lloyd said. "Still, it wouldn't hurt to try..."

With that, he rushed at the creature and slashed at it mercilessly; his fellow swordsmen Kratos, Zelos and Abyssion followed suit.

**abc**

"We've taken out the fallen angels, but the battle isn't half over," Kratos reminded. "We can't be too careful in this battle."

"I think we all know that already," Zelos muttered.

Both of the flame angels had fallen, and all that was left was Ktugachdon. However, the latter opponent proved much tougher than they had originally anticipated, and even nine-on-one, they were having trouble.

"I think it's time to end this," Abyssion said, leaping back. "It seems most vulnerable to magic attacks... perhaps that's due to the Cruxis Crystal."

"And that means?" Lloyd questioned.

"I think you're forgetting something," Genis said.

With that, Abyssion began his spell.

"_Great waters of the ocean, come forth in torrents and crush this evil! **Tidal Wave!**_"

A massive cyclonic vortex formed, taking Ktugachdon by force and knocking it back. For a few seconds after the vortex faded, the flame on Ktugachdon's wings was extinguished; however, the flame soon reappeared, much to the disappointment of the group.

"I sacrificed healing abilities for more powerful offensive abilities," Abyssion said. "Though I have little to no ability to cast healing spells, I can put the effort into assembling more powerful offensive spells."

"Ktugachdon is still alive," Presea interrupted. "We have to defeat it quickly, or it will destroy us with its sheer power."

"Very well," Abyssion stated. "Let us begin the main event."

Quite suddenly, a massive explosion shook the earth; Ktugachdon had prepared its most powerful attack. Summoning forth the power that was believed to be possessed only by Efreet, it loosed a massive red circle, which burned with intense fire that knocked back members of the group. Then, a massive sword of fire fell from the sky and struck the center, exploding soon after making contact. Once the attack had faded, everyone was badly damaged.

"I take it that was Ktugachdon's version of Indignation Judgment," Genis muttered. "Whatever it was, it was way too powerful."

"I don't think we'll be able to handle another attack," Kratos commented. "That... was powerful."

At the last expected moment, three arrows of light struck Ktugachdon, and it roared in pain. Lloyd turned to view the source of the attack.

Floating in the doorway that was the entrance to the seal room was a green-robed, blond-haired angel with sparkling blue eyes and beautiful white wings. He seemed to be watching Colette, and bore an expression of concern on his face.

"Remiel," Lloyd said in awe. "It's been a long time."

"It has been quite a time," Remiel said, turning his gaze upon Lloyd. "The seal guardian will not fall easily... you must continue your attack for as long as possible." Then, he turned his gaze back to Colette. "Are you alright, my daughter?"

"Oh, Father!" Colette exclaimed, turning to face Remiel. "Did you come here to save me?"

"Yes," Remiel replied. "I have been looking for you for quite some time. Right now, however, we must defeat the seal guardian."

Two angel swordians entered the room; their seemingly delicate jet-black wings fluttered ever so slowly, keeping them floating barely off the ground. Each one bore twin swords, and each of these swords bore sharp, intimidating edges.

"All is well," Abyssion said. "Let us return to the fight."

Lloyd nodded and turned around; then, he merged his twin swords into the brilliant purple glowing sword his title was named after. "This... is for hurting my friends... and for the sake of all the lives who were sacrificed for Nebilim!"

A glowing aura of pure mana encircled Lloyd as he rose the Eternal Sword into the air; the blades of light sliced at Ktugachdon repeatedly, damaging it heavily. Then, Lloyd leaped into the air, as the Eternal Sword began to shine...

"**_FALCON'S CREST!_**"

Lloyd brought the sword down on Ktugachdon, lighting up the entire seal room with a brilliant flash as the sword summoned forth its own blades of mana to attack. The attack concluded with an explosion, then Lloyd leaped back, once again separating the Eternal Sword into two.

Ktugachdon staggered, beaten and bloodied from the attack. However, it managed to rise again and deliver a blast of flame, which was enough to knock Lloyd into the wall... and out.

"We'll win this battle yet," Genis said defiantly. "If we lose now, we'll betray everyone!"

With that, the remaining fighters attacked as a group; Kratos used Hurricane Thrust and Zelos used Light Spear Cannon, while Colette used Torrential Para Ball and Sheena used Cyclone Seal. As Presea used Eternal Devastation, Genis loosed Spread and Raine cast Ray, while Abyssion unleashed Freeze Lancer.

Once the attacks had all faded, Remiel launched his light arrows at Ktugachdon, and the angel swordians finished it off with a combined attack.

"That was rough," Abyssion commented once Ktugachdon had fallen. "We need to do something about Mr. Eternal Swordsman here, too." He glared at the unconscious Lloyd.

"Oh _come on_, anyone can handle that," Zelos said, using a Life Bottle on Lloyd. "We all know that items exist for a reason."

Lloyd slowly awoke, and shook his head repeatedly before asking, "What happened?"

"You were knocked out by Ktugachdon," Raine replied. "We attacked Ktugachdon together and managed to take it out. The seal should be released soon."

Lloyd looked up just in time to watch a spectacular sight; as the seal was released, the crystal sphere that held the card shattered. Once the seal had been released, the card floated down in front of the altar. Sheena stepped forward and took the card, finding it perhaps just as usable as her regular weaponry; she pocketed it for later use.

"Well, it seems we've released the first seal," Lloyd said. "That means we need to find the next seal, right?"

"Yes," Raine replied. "However, it would be best if we rested here for the night."

"Outside the temple, you mean," Kratos said, chuckling slightly. "It would not be practical to stay in the temple."

One of the angel swordians glanced at Lloyd and tilted her head, then proceeded to exit; the other soon followed.

"Yes, it would be best to stay here for the night," Remiel said. "Let us leave the temple... to be perfectly honest," his tone changed, "this place gives me the creeps."

Everyone else grinned at that last comment; they had never before heard Remiel say something like that.

The group then proceeded to leave, being careful to avoid opposing monsters as they exited. Once they had left the temple, they set up camp, and some quiet conversation ensued.

It was decided that Remiel was to stay there for the night with them; then, he would return to Vinheim with the other angels. After all, they figured, he still had some things to do in Cruxis before he could accompany them.

However, he made a final promise to Colette: if she were ever in trouble, he would come and save her from any harm.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Author's Note: Alright, let me clear up a few things for you. First of all, weapons equipped:

Lloyd has the Material Blade,

Colette has the Angel's Halo,

Genis has the Southern Cross,

Raine has the Crystal Rod,

Presea has the Bahamut's Tear,

Sheena has the Asura,

Kratos has the Last Fencer,

Zelos has the Gladius,

Abyssion has the Excalibur.

Don't ask why Zelos has one of the weaker weapons in the game, or why so many of the characters have their Coliseum weapons (most notably Abyssion).

Regal isn't exactly my favorite character, so don't expect him to be featured much. However, do expect more angel swordians. I love angel swordians. And their Derris-Kharlan/Vinheim counterparts, but that's beside the point.

I know that isn't what Lloyd says when he uses Falcon's Crest, but I don't particularly care. It sounds cooler than "_Divine Justice_" anyhow.

Lastly, I like Ktugach. Ktugach and Iapyx, actually. They're my two favorite seal guardians in the game. Ktugach because it looks cool and Iapyx... because it looks cool, duh :P I don't particularly like Adulocia or Iubaris, and I HATE fighting Remiel.

And yes, Ktugachdon (the EVOLVED version of Ktugach, bwahahaha :) ) learns hi-ougis too. But only the fire element version of Indignation Judgment. If you're having trouble picturing the attack, think of a cross between Raging Mist and Indignation Judgment. Really cool. 8)

Well, I hope this long chapter (and even longer Author's Note) will keep you occupied for the present. I've been experiencing some technical difficulties as of late and may not be able to update for a while.


	7. The Second Seal: Tsunami of Death

Rising Shadow: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Summary: The Dark Lord Nebilim is spreading the fog of death through the land; a swordsman by the name of Abyssion goes out to find out how to stop this miasma, and also to avenge the death of his parents.

Along the way, he stumbles upon the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd, and his group, and they work together to help defeat Nebilim and restore peace and tranquility to the land.

Author's Note: This is in an Author's Universe, which means that the storyline has nothing to do with the storyline of the game. There may be a bit of out-of-characterness, and lastly, this is a crossover fic (the concept of miasma is from _Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles_). There may be a few Original Characters, which are characters the author came up with to put in the fanfic.

Also, there will be some hints at pairings in this fic (sometimes a little more than hints ;) ): the most notable will be LloydxColette, and there'll also be sprinklings of ZelosxSheena, GenisxPresea and, later on, maybe a little KratosxRaine. I won't spoil the rest for you.

There'll be plenty of game spoilers in this fic, however, it is in an Author's Universe, so much of the spoiler content will have to do with relations and such.

Thank you for the review(s).

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix. All I own is this storyline, this story and my pathetic, writer's-block-afflicted mind.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Chapter 6: The Second Seal: Tsunami of Death

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

The group headed northeast and across the ocean again to Lake Umacy; there, Sheena summoned Undine to carry them to the temple's entrance. The temple was sealed by a barrier that only Undine could carry them across. Once they were inside the temple, they continued on rather uneventfully.

The seal room appeared to be a quiet and peaceful cavern; however, the cavern was lined with Exspheres, all of which contained tortured souls that had been living in isolation for millenia. As the group approached the altar, they could see the cursed blade, encased in its crystal shell, floating above the seal.

A voice was heard echoing through the cavern... this one wasn't in their heads, but rather it resonated through the air with no known source.

"_You weak humans who wish to defeat me,_" the voice said. "_You lack the strength to defeat me, the servant of Nebilim. You may as well give up right here._"

"A servant of Nebilim is no match for us," Lloyd said defiantly. "You may be strong, but you aren't stronger than us!"

"_Very well,_" the voice said. "_Then I shall challenge you. If you defeat me, the seal will be released and you may possess this sword. If I defeat you... you will become the same as those lifeless beings that line the cavern wall._"

Lloyd shuddered at those last words. "We can't lose this fight... if we do, we'll become just like those countless other lives that were lost to Nebilim. We can't... we won't give up!"

The cavern began to shake violently, and the water around the seal began to rise. It converged into a massive sphere above the seal, then floated down to the Soul Eater, and finally in front of the group. Then, the sphere began to solidify, and it slowly melted into a most terrifying beast; it had a canine shape much like Fenrir, but several times larger and much more dangerous looking. Its three eyes, one on either side of its head and one in the middle of its forehead, glowed with an empty blue light, and both sides of its head were lined with sharp, curved horns that reached beyond its snout. Down its back was a row of spikes, and its tail ended in a steel-coated point. Its claws were sharp and curved, looking like the scythes of death itself. From its back rose two wings of pure water, which waved back and forth, creating peculiar breezes in the room.

On either side of the beast was a skeletal angel, much like the ones at the first seal, but with burning blue eyes instead of red.

"Celsius will kill Nebilim by herself if she sees this guy," Sheena commented. "I mean, seriously, it looks so much like Fenrir it could be an upgraded seraph version."

"Except Fenrir has four eyes," Lloyd said. "This thing has three."

"The seal guardian's name is Aryvani," Abyssion said. "It's accompanied by two ocean angels. It would be best to take down the angels first, then defeat Aryvani."

"This might be a tough battle," Kratos said. "Its power is immense... just looking at it is enough to intimidate me. Especially that third eye..."

"We have to try," Lloyd said, drawing his swords. "If we don't, we'll never have a chance at defeating Nebilim!"

**abc**

"Kratos! Look out!"

The seraph was able to dodge an aptly-placed Spread attack narrowly due to Lloyd's warning; however, he was soon overtaken by an ocean angel, which he fought off with some difficulty.

At the same time, Zelos took out the other ocean angel with a Sonic Thrust; he then turned to helping Kratos, and knocked back the ocean angel with a Super Sonic Thrust.

Using her wings to increase her speed at the most crucial time, Colette managed to dodge an Aqua Laser; however, she was not prepared for the Spread attack that immediately followed. As she was launched into the air, she wondered how this dog-creature could cast spells so fast.

The remaining ocean angel turned to attack Sheena, and she prepared to knock it back with Pyre Seal; however, the angel dodged the attack, and quickly cut a gaping hole in Sheena's side.

Zelos noticed the attack on Sheena and quickly cast a Healing Stream spell; as the circle of earth magic restored Sheena to her former form, Presea happened to step into the circle, and was treated as well.

Genis cast Thunder Blade, followed by Thunder Arrow; however, he was knocked back by an Aqua Laser before he could cast anything else. At that moment, he started radiating the dark aura of anger, seemingly glowing with shadow... and he began to summon forth the mana for a new spell.

As a massive circle of lightning magic appeared beneath Aryvani, the mage's voice echoed through the cavern, "_I'll show you your powerlessness!_"

As everyone turned to gaze in awe at Genis, several bolts of lightning rained down from the sky, each striking their target dead-on.

And as a massive blade of lightning fell from the sky and struck the center of the circle, Genis cried out, "**_Indignation Judgment!_**"

The blade of lightning exploded, dealing massive damage to Aryvani; the blast also reached and knocked out the remaining ocean angel, and as the circle faded, Aryvani seemed to be down as well. However, the seal guardian would not give up that easily; it rose again and cast Tidal Wave, knocking back the entire group.

"That was quite a powerful attack," Abyssion commented. "However, it would be best not to use much more of your mana. I can tell you used a lot in that attack."

"Yeah, I know," Genis said. "But if it's necessary, I'll pull something else out of space or something."

Abyssion started casting Ice Tornado at the same time Genis started casting Freeze Lancer; when the two attacks struck Aryvani, it was temporarily frozen, unable to move. Zelos took this opportunity and cast Eruption, dealing major damage to the opponent.

"We just have to hold on a little longer," Lloyd said. "If we can finish this thing off... the seal will be history and we'll be one step closer to fighting Nebilim."

At the mention of Nebilim's name, Abyssion suddenly perked up; he charged forward, raising his sword into the air, and brought it down with intense force on Aryvani. Channeling lightning mana through the blade, he electrocuted Aryvani and knocked it back.

Aryvani responded by loosing a massive stream of scalding-hot water at Abyssion; the swordsman could not avoid the attack, and fell back, holding his left arm.

"It's too dangerous," Kratos said. "Unless we do something, it'll defeat us."

"No!" Lloyd shouted. "We can't let it defeat us!"

"Then don't," a voice said from somewhere behind them.

Lloyd turned just in time to see the form of Yggdrasill falling to the ground and summoning mana; the attack known as Death Eater then struck Aryvani, forcing a large amount of strength out of it.

"Just remember, Lloyd," the seraph said as he rose. "With the power of light on your side, you will never lose to such inferior beings as these seal guardians."

"Thanks for the help, Yggdrasill," Lloyd said. "But we really didn't need it. We probably could've handled Aryvani on our own."

"Don't underestimate the power of Nebilim's minions," Yggdrasill said, turning his gaze to Aryvani. "You must defeat your foe and put an end to the seal bonding the Soul Eater to Nebilim." Then, he turned his cold blue eyes back to Lloyd. "Remember, you carry a Cruxis Crystal as well. Your father and your two friends aren't the only ones bearing angelic abilities."

"Ah, that's right," Lloyd said, turning around. "Well then, I'm gonna see if this really works."

"Wait a minute," Zelos said. "You're going to try and control mana?"

"Just watch me," Lloyd said as he closed his eyes. "I'll put an end to this creature once and for all!"

Sure enough, Lloyd started glowing with the aura of mana; the feathers signifying an angelic spell rose about him, disappearing soon after they appeared. The light around him twisted and warped, and he silently began saying an incantation.

"_Divine One, cast your purifying light upon this corrupt soul!_"

Then, Lloyd opened his eyes and loosed the spell.

"**_Judgment!_**"

Everyone, with the exception of Yggdrasill, began watching Lloyd in awe as the beams of judgment fell from the sky. And somehow, by some peculiar means, the Eternal Swordsman managed to focus the beams to some extent, and a devastating number of them struck Aryvani.

After the last beam had fallen and the light mana had faded, the seal guardian fell at last, dissolving into the humid air of the cavern. And at the same time, the protective case surrounding the Soul Eater shattered, and the sword floated down in front of the altar. Kratos took it and put it away, knowing it would come in handy later.

And with the release of the Soul Eater, the seal was broken.

"Two down, five more to go," Lloyd said. "I'm counting on you all!"

"I shall take my leave as well," Yggdrasill said. "I must return to Cruxis... there is something unusual about the castle. I'll let you exit the cavern first."

With that, the group left the temple, Yggdrasill in tow. Once they had reached dry ground again, they set up camp, allowing Yggdrasill to return to the Tower of Salvation.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Author's Note: WOOHOO! I figured since Lloyd had wings, he was able to use Judgment... so there it is. By the way, I made up my own incantation since he never uses it in the game :P

Aryvani is just a random name I came up with. And don't ask why it looks like Fenrir.

I promise there'll be more angel swordians and possibly more fluff in the next chapter. Ah, yes, more angel swordians. :P


	8. Fireside Discussions and Fears

Rising Shadow: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Summary: The Dark Lord Nebilim is spreading the fog of death through the land; a swordsman by the name of Abyssion goes out to find out how to stop this miasma, and also to avenge the death of his parents.

Along the way, he stumbles upon the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd, and his group, and they work together to help defeat Nebilim and restore peace and tranquility to the land.

Author's Note: This is in an Author's Universe, which means that the storyline has nothing to do with the storyline of the game. There may be a bit of out-of-characterness, and lastly, this is a crossover fic (the concept of miasma is from _Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles_). There may be a few Original Characters, which are characters the author came up with to put in the fanfic.

Also, there will be some hints at pairings in this fic (sometimes a little more than hints ;) ): the most notable will be LloydxColette, and there'll also be sprinklings of ZelosxSheena, GenisxPresea and, later on, maybe a little KratosxRaine. I won't spoil the rest for you.

There'll be plenty of game spoilers in this fic, however, it is in an Author's Universe, so much of the spoiler content will have to do with relations and such.

Thank you for the review(s).

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix. All I own is this storyline, this story and my pathetic, writer's-block-afflicted mind.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Chapter 7: Fireside Discussions and Fears

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

The group had decided to camp just outside of Lake Umacy for the night, since the next day they would have to head to the Balacruf Mausoleum to break the next seal. They all knew they had a long and arduous journey ahead of them.

Lloyd had trouble sleeping, so he, Abyssion, Kratos and Colette decided to have a chat by the fire.

**abc**

"I can't believe we're already this far," Lloyd said. "I mean, we already have two of the Devil's Arms. That leaves seven more to go."

"We've also broken two of the seals," Kratos said, glancing at Lloyd. "I'm... proud of you."

"It must feel nice to have your father acknowledge you after all this time," Colette said. "I mean, you've had fourteen... nearly fifteen long, hard years without your parents, and since you know your mother isn't alive, you at least know your father is."

"Yeah, I must admit, it does feel nice," Lloyd said. "But I suppose I shouldn't let it get to me."

"You both are descendants of angels," Abyssion said. "Lloyd is the descendant of a seraph, and Colette is the descendant of... a half-elven angel who ranks barely higher than all the others. It makes me wonder how Colette is so human..."

"Maybe I do have a small amount of elven blood in me," Colette said. "But then again... maybe not."

"An angel's child does not always carry their race," Kratos said. "Not even I understand the specifics, but... it seems as if somehow, the lesser race can be overwhelmed by the greater race's blood. I know of a number of angel's descendants who are pureblooded humans or elves."

"It doesn't seem like it would be allowed by physics," Abyssion said. "After all, the genetic code of both parents is involved in the creation of the child, and so I'd imagine any normal being born of a human and a half-elf would be at least one quarter elf."

"Maybe it's the Cruxis Crystal," Colette said. "Or... maybe if both parents have an Exsphere or Cruxis Crystal, the dominant race's blood overwhelms the other's, and the child is of the dominant race."

"It's not scientifically possible," Abyssion said. "You shouldn't be a pureblooded human... but you have the mana signature of a pureblood. Perhaps Kratos is right... maybe it's _because_ you're the child of an angel that you're a pureblooded human."

There was a brief silence as everyone wondered how Abyssion could sense the mana signature.

Then Colette spoke up, saying, "Oh, that's right. You're a half-elf too."

"It took you this long to notice?" Abyssion muttered.

"I don't understand what you just said, but it sounded pretty interesting," Lloyd said. "I mean, that whole thing about genetic codes and dominant races really got me there."

"He's still as stupid as ever..." Kratos muttered, attempting to keep Lloyd from hearing it. However, Lloyd's senses had been enhanced by the Cruxis Crystal, and he picked it up with no problem, glaring at Kratos.

"I desire to ask a question," Abyssion said, interrupting the relatives' squabble. "Do you think collecting and sealing the Devil's Arms... is really the right decision? We don't know if we'll even be able to take Nebilim's sword..."

"It's okay," Colette said. "If you're worried about it now, you're probably just nervous. When the time comes, I'm sure we'll find a way to defeat Nebilim."

"Yeah, you're right," Abyssion said. "But still... I'm worried... I wonder if he'll be able to handle it..."

"Who?" Lloyd asked.

"My brother," Abyssion replied. "He's a few years younger than me, and he isn't in the best of shape... I hope he'll be able to survive alone for all this time."

"You seem like a strong person," Kratos said. "I doubt any relatives of yours wouldn't be able to hold their own... even in a place like Flanoir."

"I'm not so sure about that," Abyssion said. "My parents... and a few of my siblings were killed by Nebilim. They couldn't hold their own..."

"Nebilim's pretty powerful," Lloyd said. "Unless they were trained in combat, they probably wouldn't have had a chance."

"Yes, you're right," Abyssion said. "Me and my brother were the only ones trained in combat... and my brother can't fight because he's too sickly to do so."

"Just like with Seles," Lloyd said, his mind drifting to the Wilder siblings. "Seles wanted to help Zelos and the rest of us, but she's too weak to do it. I'm sure if she had the strength, she could come, but..."

"That's right," Abyssion said, glancing at Lloyd. "You know someone with a younger relative as well. I... think I will attempt to support Zelos in this journey. I know how he feels... if only slightly."

"She's only his half-sister," Kratos said. "She's only his sister on his father's side. But it seems he cares about her nonetheless... and she seems to care about him as well."

"Say, what will happen if we gather and seal the Devil's Arms?" Lloyd asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Nebilim's power will be greatly reduced," Abyssion replied. "If we don't kill him our first time around, we will definitely kill him the next time if the Devil's Arms are sealed. Also, if we manage to obtain all of the weapons and seal them... the miasma will disappear."

"Are the Devil's Arms really the source of miasma?" Colette asked.

"Part of it is the Devil's Arms, yes," Abyssion replied. "However, Nebilim controls the Devil's Arms, and since sealing them will reduce Nebilim's power, it would most likely put an end to the miasma as well."

"Ah, I see now," Lloyd said. "So Nebilim is using the Devil's Arms to increase his strength, which in turn allows him to create the miasma. And since sealing the Devil's Arms will reduce Nebilim's power, he will no longer have the power to create the miasma, thereby causing its depletion and eventual disappearance."

"Precisely," Abyssion said. "However, it is said that the Devil's Arms are loyal to their master. Once we reach Nebilim, we will most likely lose possession of all of them until we can defeat him."

"And we can't seal the Devil's Arms without having all of the pieces," Colette said. "Since Nebilim is in possession of the final piece, we'll have to fight him to obtain the last piece so we can seal them, which means... we're going to have to fight Nebilim at full strength."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Kratos asked, turning to Lloyd.

"Yeah," Lloyd replied confidently. "We're going to take this Nebilim guy down, and return him to Niflheim where he belongs!"

Everyone stared at Lloyd confusedly.

"Ah... never mind," Lloyd said. "I think I overheard the Professor saying that Nebilim came from Niflheim. I'm not exactly sure what that is, but that's a bad place, isn't it? I mean, after all, Nebilim is from it..."

"It's just a legend," Kratos said. "However, it is believed that Niflheim is the Underworld, where demonic beings dwell. Nebilim was probably born in this world, and raised in Niflheim, if it does indeed exist... there are no humans, elves or half-elves in Niflheim, merely the empty souls that were once pure-hearted."

"So Nebilim is technically a demon," Lloyd said. "You said that there are no humans or elves in Niflheim, but Nebilim is always depicted as a half-elf. He may have died while he was still young, but was reincarnated in Niflheim in his half-elf form and... somehow managed to come back to Symphonia in his demon form."

"Perhaps that is true," Kratos said. "After all, I cannot imagine how a human or half-elf would be able to live in Niflheim without being killed by demons." He glanced up at the sky. "It's getting late... we should all get some rest."

"I thought angels didn't need to sleep," Lloyd said.

"They don't," Kratos said. "However, it is a good way to replenish one's mana after a battle. It would be best to get some rest before attempting to fight again. And besides..." he glanced at Abyssion. "...not all of us are angels, remember?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Lloyd said. "I just have one question. Can I... sleep with Colette tonight?"

"You may do as you wish," Kratos replied. "Just... don't do anything you'll regret."

"Huh?" was Lloyd's confused response.

Abyssion sighed and said, "I suppose it is for the better that your mind doesn't stray into that realm. I wish I could say the same about myself."

"Ah, never mind," Lloyd said. "Good night, both of you."

Once Kratos was sure Lloyd and Colette had taken their leave, he turned to Abyssion.

"What did you mean by that?" he asked.

"Ah, nothing," Abyssion replied. "It was just... a stupid decision I made back when I was a lowly teenager."

"It must've been pretty damn stupid judging by how you speak of it," Kratos said. "May I ask what happened?"

"Yeah, it was pretty stupid," Abyssion said. "I slept with some girl I thought I was in love with, but then we broke up after I got her pregnant." He looked down at the ground. "I'm still unable to find out the whereabouts of her and the child, but I'd assume she's returned to her hometown."

"So you're a father too," Kratos said. "Well... sort of. Just promise me you won't go around leaving bastard children behind, alright?"

"One is enough," Abyssion said, laughing. "You're lucky you know where _your_ son is." He turned to leave. "I'll be going now. Be sure to get some rest yourself... it's gonna be a long day tomorrow."

As Abyssion left, Kratos had one thing on his mind.

_I wonder what happened to her..._

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Author's Note: In case you all were wondering (for those of you who have done the Devil's Arms sidequest), 'Abyssion' is the 'human' form you see outside of battles, and 'Nebilim' is the one you fight. You're technically fighting Nebilim in that battle... remember Abyssion's words?

And... yep, Abyssion had a problem that's quite common among teenagers nowadays (well, at least, American teenagers ;) Quite the 'Land of the Free', isn't it?). Don't ask why Kratos was acting so OOC in that scene. And also, don't ask why he didn't know what Abyssion was talking about. Yeah, he's just naive or something. Yeah. Where do you think Lloyd gets it from? Huh?

...okay, you can smack me now. **(braces self for smacking)**

Oh, and... PLEASE REVIEW! I'm so sick and tired of people coming in and reading this for no apparent reason, only to leave without a review! I might not be able to continue this fanfic if I don't get any reviews! I suck enough at action anyway, but I'm going to continue this fanfic as practice, until I get so damn blocked I can't write a paragraph more.

Well, see ya next time! Peace out, man! ;)


	9. The Third Seal: Unruly Hurricane

Rising Shadow: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Summary: The Dark Lord Nebilim is spreading the fog of death through the land; a swordsman by the name of Abyssion goes out to find out how to stop this miasma, and also to avenge the death of his parents.

Along the way, he stumbles upon the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd, and his group, and they work together to help defeat Nebilim and restore peace and tranquility to the land.

Author's Note: This is in an Author's Universe, which means that the storyline has nothing to do with the storyline of the game. There may be a bit of out-of-characterness, and lastly, this is a crossover fic (the concept of miasma is from _Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles_). There may be a few Original Characters, which are characters the author came up with to put in the fanfic.

Also, there will be some hints at pairings in this fic (sometimes a little more than hints ;) ): the most notable will be LloydxColette, and there'll also be sprinklings of ZelosxSheena, GenisxPresea and, later on, maybe a little KratosxRaine. I won't spoil the rest for you.

There'll be plenty of game spoilers in this fic, however, it is in an Author's Universe, so much of the spoiler content will have to do with relations and such.

Thank you for the review(s).

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix. All I own is this storyline, this story and my pathetic, writer's-block-afflicted mind.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Chapter 8: The Third Seal: Unruly Hurricane

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

The group had stopped in Asgard along the way to the third seal to stock up on supplies and confirm the location. After that, they headed to the temple.

The design of this temple was peculiar; the walls were ornately decorated with pictures of humans and other creatures riding out great thunderstorms, and the winding paths seemed to be there more to confuse those that went there rather than to bring them down with traps. After a great quantity of difficulty, the group came upon a transporter that led up into the seal room, which floated in a realm somewhere far away.

**abc**

In the middle of the seal room stood the altar; above it floated the giant weapon known as Diablos. Pillars of wind seemed to reach all the way up to the heavens above, and the room had no visible ceiling, just four towering walls that enclosed the entire space.

_So, you've come,_ a voice said. _Ah, yes, I see... the Eternal Swordsman and his traveling band of weaklings have come to fight me._

"There's no other way to break the seal," Abyssion said, brandishing his sword. "We must break the seal."

_Very well,_ the voice said. _If you desire to fight me, the guardian of the third seal, I will fight you. But remember... this battle will not be easy. For you or for me._

"Finally, a seal guardian that isn't arrogant as hell," Lloyd commented. "Well, I guess you should, y'know, show yourself, so we have a fair chance at being able to fight you..."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and the four walls dropped to a height of merely two feet, exposing endless blue sky and clouds around them. The seal guardian floated down from the sky in a ball of light, which then exploded to reveal the guardian's form.

It bore four long, blue-and-yellow feathered wings, and its neck sprouted from between the two main wings; its head was much like that of a bird, and its eyes glowed the color of lightning. The rest of its body, which resembled that of a great bird, hung down from there, with two long, powerful legs ending in sharp, curved talons. Its tail flowed behind it like that of Aska, well-feathered and seemingly sparkling with lightning. Its color was blue, with brilliant yellow feathers mixed in.

"This thing looks a lot like Iapyx," Presea commented. "The difference is... it's bigger, and its secondary wings are much larger in comparison to the main wings."

"It is Huracan," Abyssion said. "It is said to control the mighty storms, all different forms of them. It originally fought for good... but it is a fallen hero, taken in by Nebilim in his lust for power and transformed into the fighting machine it is now."

"That explains why its attitude is so different," Lloyd said. "Well then, what are we waiting for? It needs to go down, so let's take it down!"

"Draw your weapons," the being known as Huracan stated. "If I defeat you, your souls will go to Lord Nebilim for the sake of increasing his power... and if you defeat me, the seal will be broken, and I will be freed from Nebilim's hold."

"All the more reason to defeat you," Kratos said as he drew his sword. "But it appears you will be fighting alone..."

"I do not need Nebilim's pathetic guardians to aid me," Huracan said. "All they will do is get in the way."

"So be it," Kratos said. Then, he charged at Huracan. "We will defeat you, for the sake of the world... and for the sake of your own freedom!"

**abc**

"You... are more powerful than I imagined." Huracan slowly floated away, its secondary wings no longer functioning.

"As are you," Kratos said, leaning on his sword to support himself. "It's amazing how you have held up this long."

"However, seal guardians never give up," Huracan said as it started to glow. "Feel for yourself the true power of the Dark Lord Nebilim!"

With that, the Cruxis Crystal on the odd creature's chest began to glow; a great storm began to rage far above, with lightning flashing almost constantly.

"_I summon forth the power of the dark hurricane... the one that rages within all our hearts... to strike down this foe and transform them into darkness!_"

Huracan drifted even further back, now drawing power from the seal itself.

"_Feel the true power of darkness! **Demonic Hurricane!**_"

The sky grew black as the night, as lightning rained down on the battlefield; the shredding winds of the hurricane struck the group, driving the falling rain hard into them. The storm continued to rage for several minutes as Huracan's anger rose.

"We must fight back the darkness!" Abyssion shouted through the roaring wind. "If we succumb to the darkness, we'll betray everyone... everyone whose lives were lost to Nebilim and the seal guardians... we'll betray _everyone!_"

As the raging tempest faded, Abyssion prepared an attack. The swordsman raised his sword into the air, and it started glowing with a brilliant light.

"Whoa, what is going on?" Lloyd exclaimed, watching Abyssion.

"I don't know," Colette said. "But it seems he's using some attack..."

A pulsing circle of mana appeared around Abyssion, and a ring of mana began closing in on him.

"_This is for all of you who believed in a weak fool like me!_" the swordsman's voice echoed as he continued charging the attack. "_I'll save you all... human, elf, and everyone in between!_"

The sword began glimmering with the light of mana as the circle finished closing.

"**_SHINING BIND!_**"

Abyssion rose into the air on a stream of light mana as he spread his arms, unleashing the full fury of the attack. The entire circle filled with a blinding light, flashing in brilliant pillars and twisting in all sorts of different ways and slowly disassembling the very structure of Huracan's body. As the attack faded, Abyssion fell to the ground, and assumed his battle stance once more, as if nothing had happened.

"That was certainly impressive," Huracan said, falling back and using its feet to hold the ground, as it could no longer fly. "Impressive for the half-elf who was one of only two survivors of his family."

"I had to do it," Abyssion said. "I... do not wish to betray any more of my relatives, or my dearest friends who have helped me along. And I must avenge my parents... for the sake of everyone who believed in a weak fool like me..."

With that, the magic swordsman finally collapsed, unconscious. Raine carried him to the edge of the battlefield and attempted to heal him.

"Thank you, Abyssion," Lloyd said, looking back at his fallen comrade. "Thank you for assisting us in this battle..."

However, Huracan had other plans.

Summoning forth its power once more, it called forth a massive tornado that took the entire group by surprise. They were scattered across the field, many unable to move.

"I'll admit I was holding back," the seal guardian said. "However, now that the most powerful of the half-elves in your group has fallen... I feel no need to hold back." Its eyes flashed red. "You shall all die!"

Huracan walked slowly over to Lloyd and raised its taloned foot, ready to gut him where he lay.

However, a certain half-elven seraph had other ideas.

"**_INDIGNATION!_**"

Huracan stopped in its tracks as the circle of lightning mana appeared beneath it; the sudden appearance of this new foe shocked it, and it found itself unable to move, which was a big problem. The swirling beads of mana that represented the attack itself slowly floated up to the top as the circle below glowed even brighter, and once the beads had reached the top, lightning struck and knocked Huracan away.

Standing just in front of the transporter was the blue-haired seraph of Cruxis the group had been introduced to in Vinheim. He held his twin-bladed weapon at ready, his purple wings of mana fluttering lightly behind him.

"Yuan," Kratos said, rising to his feet and turning around. "Thank you for saving me... again."

"It's a friend's job," Yuan said, smirking. "Now let me handle this thing. You need to rest in your condition."

Kratos nodded and allowed Yuan to pass.

The half-elven seraph made one motion with his weapon, and the Cruxis Crystal on Huracan shattered, its remnants evaporating in the cool air of the seal room.

"Thank you, seraph," Huracan said, taking to the sky again with healed wings. "You have freed me from the bonds of Nebilim... I am in your debt."

As Lloyd struggled to rise, he said, "So this means you'll break the seal."

"Yes, precisely," Huracan said, turning to face the seal. "Diablos is in your possession. Do whatever you wish with it... but do not let it take you."

"Thank you," Lloyd said, stepping forward. "I hope you'll be able to return to Symphonia now that you've been freed from Nebilim."

Huracan floated above the seal, and allowing one last technique to be used, sent the winds of life upon the fallen members of the group. Then, it rose even higher, disappearing into the endless sky above. The seal was broken, and the bond around the weapon floating above the seal fell, allowing the weapon to float to the front of the altar.

Presea, who had regained her strength enough to move, stepped forward and took the weapon, stowing it away quite simply.

"Thanks for helping us, Yuan," Lloyd said, turning to the blue-haired seraph. "That was kinda cool."

"It's my job to help you guys," Yuan said. "After all, you're allies of Cruxis, and I'm a member of Cruxis."

"Thanks anyway," Lloyd said as he turned. "Well, we should be heading off now... I mean, the seal is broken, Diablos is freed, and Huracan will now once again roam the skies of Symphonia. Now just to get through that stupid maze..."

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

"AAGH! HOW THE HELL DO I GET OUT OF THIS MAZE?"

A random bat was awoken from its sleep by the sudden scream; however, it decided not to do anything, and returned to its peaceful slumber.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Author's Note: I like Iapyx. Didn't I say it was one of my favorite seal guardians?

Yeah, I know the last bit is kinda random, but you have to have randomness in any story to make it good.

Dammit! I forgot all about the angel swordians! Oh well, there's always next seal. :P


	10. The Fourth Seal: Keraunophobia

Rising Shadow: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Summary: The Dark Lord Nebilim is spreading the fog of death through the land; a swordsman by the name of Abyssion goes out to find out how to stop this miasma, and also to avenge the death of his parents.

Along the way, he stumbles upon the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd, and his group, and they work together to help defeat Nebilim and restore peace and tranquility to the land.

Author's Note: This is in an Author's Universe, which means that the storyline has nothing to do with the storyline of the game. There may be a bit of out-of-characterness, and lastly, this is a crossover fic (the concept of miasma is from _Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles_). There may be a few Original Characters, which are characters the author came up with to put in the fanfic.

Also, there will be some hints at pairings in this fic (sometimes a little more than hints ;) ): the most notable will be LloydxColette, and there'll also be sprinklings of ZelosxSheena, GenisxPresea and, later on, maybe a little KratosxRaine. I won't spoil the rest for you.

There'll be plenty of game spoilers in this fic, however, it is in an Author's Universe, so much of the spoiler content will have to do with relations and such.

Thank you for the review(s).

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix. All I own is this storyline, this story and my pathetic, writer's-block-afflicted mind.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Chapter 9: The Fourth Seal: Keraunophobia

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

The group proceeded to head north and east, stopping once in Asgard and once in Luin with the passing of days. After an extended period of time, they finally reached the seal, which lay north of the Tower of Mana.

They passed through the temple rather slowly; through dark rooms illuminated only by the flash of lightning and traps that made those in the Temple of Lightning look tame, it was a treacherous path which would've stopped any ordinary traveler in their tracks.

After the dangerous journey, which they barely survived (at least according to Lloyd), they came upon the seal room, which had panels of metal covering the walls and currents running through the very core of the room. The altar in the middle of the room was surrounded by a brilliant purple force field, and floating above the seal was a crystalline sphere with the chakram in the center. The group moved slowly away from the altar, as they all felt a peculiar energy radiating from it.

And that's when the entire room exploded in a blinding flash.

**abc**

"Whoa! What the hell was that?" Lloyd exclaimed.

"I think the seal guardian's attacking," Raine said as calmly as she could. "We'd better be careful."

_Do you have a deathwish?_ a voice echoed in their heads. _Only those completely immune to the powers of lightning can defeat me, after all._

"We seek to release the seal," Kratos said, drawing his sword. "We shall take you on regardless of your power."

_Very well,_ the voice said. _You will be Nebilim's next victims._

The entire room began to glow with an eerie purple glow, which eventually converged in front of the seal and took the form of a massive creature.

It had a brilliant blue body, streaked with yellow. Its shape was like that of a cheetah, with a sleek, long-legged body ending in a whiplike tail. It wore a crest of blades that were colored red like fire, and the curved blades traced down its back, fading into green as they crossed its tail and ended in a single sharp scythelike projection at the end of its tail. Its claws were equally long and sharp, and were colored like solid steel. From the joints on its legs sprouted curving scythes that pointed at the ground. Its two ears were large and pointed, with crimson horns behind each one. There were also long-feathered, purple wings of mana sprouting from its back, which waved ever so lightly, casting a light breeze upon the group.

"I am Keraunis," the creature said, its deep and intimidating voice echoing through the room. "Those who have a desire to defeat me will not live to see tomorrow!"

The group barely had time to draw their weapons before Keraunis fell upon them. It moved almost as fast as the lightning it summoned forth, and it seemed immune to most of the attacks.

Once Lloyd finally had time to recover, he prepared to launch a full-fledged assault upon the beast of lightning.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

As Lloyd loosed Demonic Chaos and Zelos used Grave Blade, Keraunis merely leaped to the side and summoned forth Cardinal Strike. Then, it leaped forward, preparing to attack Lloyd... only to be cut off by Kratos' Eruption spell. Keraunis flinched for a brief second, and then prepared to attack Kratos.

"I think I've figured out its strategy," Lloyd said. "It attacks the one who last attacked it."

"That means a Unison Attack would be best," Abyssion said. "But I don't think we can use one now..."

"I've got it covered," Sheena said. "We can take this bad boy down."

Genis cast Spread at the same time Colette used Pow Hammer; Keraunis couldn't decide who to go after next, and finally settled on both, loosing an Indignation Judgment. Then, after releasing the massive attack, it turned to Raine and struck her down with its tail, poisoning her.

Raine managed to cast Purify, which removed the offending ailment. As she was doing so, Abyssion started casting a spell of his own, one that seemed unfamiliar to them all.

"_Come forth in torrents and destroy this evil foe! I summon forth the power of the ocean itself! **Storm Surge!**_"

Immediately the room filled with water, which continued to rise and tore at Keraunis with mighty waves. The wind blown across the surface of the water contributed mightily to the damage, and it seemed almost as if a hurricane had formed right above the temple. After a time, the surge subsided, and the water drained into the earth, seemingly disappearing completely from sight.

Keraunis was damaged, but it could still fight. And fight it did; taking advantage of Abyssion's brief lapse of concentration, it leaped forward and struck him with one of its claws. Then, it channeled lightning through the claw, and ended up giving him a shock he wouldn't soon forget.

After shaking Abyssion off of its claw, Keraunis turned to Genis, swinging its tail at him. The half-elf dodged and loosed a quick Fire Ball at Keraunis, who took the blow as if it was nothing. Keraunis then brought its foot down on the ground in front of Genis and loosed a Lightning Strike attack, which knocked back and dazed the half-elf.

Keraunis wasn't done yet. It then proceeded to turn to Kratos, using its wings to leap into the air and deliver a massive blow to the seraph. Kratos staggered backwards, seemingly having difficulty staying on his feet, and then managed to right himself using his wings. However, he quickly realized it was futile to attack Keraunis in its current position, and backed off.

Then, the seal guardian turned to Zelos... and with one mighty swing of its paw, it knocked him out cleanly.

That was the last straw. As soon as Sheena saw Zelos go down, she started radiating the black aura of anger. Thinking quickly, she decided to do something not quite expected by the others of the group.

"_I call upon the Maiden of the Mist! I summon thee... **Come, Undine!**_"

The Summon Spirit appeared in a brilliant flash of light, hovering before Sheena. Then, the entire floor of the room seemed to erupt in a number of Spread attacks, which launched one after the other, causing severe damage to Keraunis. At the same time, the waters of healing fell upon the group, aiding everyone who hadn't already fallen.

As Undine disappeared, Keraunis turned to Sheena and prepared to attack her. However, it was cut off by Abyssion, who had been restored by the summon and was now attacking viciously with Hell Pyre and Hurricane Thrust.

Keraunis merely flicked off the half-elven swordsman as if he were a lone feather.

"This thing is ridiculously powerful," Lloyd said, panting. "Is there any way to defeat it?"

His answer came in the most unexpected form; they heard a high-pitched voice call out the name of the spell Absolute, and Keraunis was taken by the explosion of ice and frost.

Zelos, with the aid of a Life Bottle, managed to rise, and looked up at the doorway with a confused expression, which soon faded to one of worry.

In the doorway of the seal room stood Seles Wilder, who seemed rather ticked off at the fact that Zelos had been brought down by Keraunis.

"Seles," Zelos said, turning to his half-sister. "I thought you were too sickly to aid us in fighting."

"Those days are long gone," Seles said with a smirk. "And I have someone to thank for it, too."

"There's only one person I know that could possibly possess abilities like that," Abyssion said as he got up. "And that person is..."

"Leviathan Reterian," Seles said, finishing for Abyssion. "I hope you've all heard of him by now."

"Levi!" Abyssion exclaimed. "I hope he's alright! It must've taken a lot out of him to help you!"

"We don't really have any time to worry about that right now," Zelos said. "We have to finish off the seal guardian first."

"That should be fairly simple," Lloyd said, observing Keraunis. "That attack took a lot out of it. I'll take care of it myself."

Indeed, the Eternal Swordsman finished off Keraunis quite easily; calling upon the power that only a few seraphim could use, he cast the spell Angel Feathers, which had previously seemed fairly exclusive to Colette. The missiles of mana were more than enough to take out Keraunis, practically hacking it to pieces.

As the remnants of the seal guardian evaporated into the cool air of the seal room, Lloyd dusted himself off nonchalantly.

Abyssion watched the seal break, and as he did so, he muttered, "Levi, you idiot..."

Kratos heard Abyssion and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Ah, nothing," Abyssion replied, looking down. "I'm just... worried about Levi..."

"What's your relation to Levi?" Lloyd asked, glancing at Abyssion.

"I'll explain later," Abyssion replied. "For now... let us leave."

The Evil Eye, which sat above the altar, broke out of its hold and floated to the front as the force field fell. Colette took it, stowing it away for later use.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

The group decided to set up camp just outside the temple, and everyone decided to sit around the campfire for a while.

"I apologize for not introducing myself more fully," Abyssion said suddenly, startling everyone.

"What do you mean by that?" Lloyd asked.

"My name is Abyssion Reterian," Abyssion replied. "Leviathan... is my brother. I told him never to leave Flanoir... I guess he didn't listen to me."

"You sound like you've lived a rough life," Lloyd said. "Do tell me, why exactly did he have to leave Flanoir?"

"You saw Seles enter the temple," Abyssion said. "She's capable of using powerful offensive magic due to the Exsphere. She's also part elf, as her mother was a half-elf. It is known amongst our people that a few of the children of half-elves are born with a peculiar disorder that makes them more susceptible to disease. However, it can be cured with the right knowledge... Levi has the ability to cure this disorder, but it must be done in the Holy Ground of Kharlan, otherwise the spell won't work."

"The Holy Ground of Kharlan is where the Tower of Salvation resides," Kratos said. "And obviously, Flanoir is nowhere near the Tower of Salvation. Therefore, you're saying Leviathan decided to head out to the Tower of Salvation to cure Seles?"

"Precisely," Abyssion replied. "Though I'm unsure as to how he got there... most likely, however, he took a Rheaird. I told him never to leave Flanoir, though... it was too dangerous for him to exit the city."

"Does he wear a crystal shard as well?" Lloyd asked.

"Rarely," Abyssion replied. "He does have a crystal shard, but he almost never uses it. I'd been thinking of giving it to another group, but he insisted on holding onto it."

"Why such sentiments?" Kratos asked, his curiosity piqued.

"It's a memento," Abyssion replied. "The crystal shard once belonged to our father... Levi feels lucky he still possesses the crystal."

"Why did Leviathan leave Flanoir to help Seles?" Zelos asked.

"I could ask the same," Abyssion said. "I wish I knew. I strictly forbid Levi to leave Flanoir under any circumstances."

"You think we should go to Flanoir?" Zelos asked. "He's probably gone back by now."

"It sounds like a good idea to me," Lloyd said.

"It will be difficult to get there," Abyssion said. "I suppose if we got our hands on a few Rheairds of our own... but there's one problem. Not all of us have crystal shards... and I doubt anyone around here would want to part with crystal shards, seeing as they're such precious items."

"There is a way," Kratos said. "We could go to Vinheim. Mithos knows of a way we could get to Flanoir."

"Alright, then," Abyssion said. "That means our next destination is the Tower of Salvation. We can start tomorrow."

"Why Vinheim?" Lloyd asked, turning to Kratos.

"It should become fairly obvious once we get there," Kratos replied. "However, you won't have to undergo the test."

"I won't have to undergo the test?" Lloyd questioned, confused.

"Trust me, you won't," Kratos said. "And... to be perfectly honest, I'm glad you don't." He shuddered.

Lloyd simply sat in contemplation for the rest of the conversation, wondering what exactly Kratos was thinking.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Author's Note: Abyssion's brother is introduced! And Seles returns! Mithos knows the path to Flanoir, but what is it?

Find out whenever the heck I can get rid of this doggone writer's block. -.-

Oh, sorry about the long wait. I just got randomly inspired.


	11. Tenshi no Mitos

Rising Shadow: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Summary: The Dark Lord Nebilim is spreading the fog of death through the land; a swordsman by the name of Abyssion goes out to find out how to stop this miasma, and also to avenge the death of his parents.

Along the way, he stumbles upon the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd, and his group, and they work together to help defeat Nebilim and restore peace and tranquility to the land.

Author's Note: This is in an Author's Universe, which means that the storyline has nothing to do with the storyline of the game. There may be a bit of out-of-characterness, and lastly, this is a crossover fic (the concept of miasma is from _Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles_). There may be a few Original Characters, which are characters the author came up with to put in the fanfic.

Also, there will be some hints at pairings in this fic (sometimes a little more than hints ;) ): the most notable will be LloydxColette, and there'll also be sprinklings of ZelosxSheena, GenisxPresea and, later on, maybe a little KratosxRaine. I won't spoil the rest for you.

There'll be plenty of game spoilers in this fic, however, it is in an Author's Universe, so much of the spoiler content will have to do with relations and such.

Thank you for the review(s).

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix. All I own is this storyline, this story and my pathetic, writer's-block-afflicted mind.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Chapter 10: Tenshi no Mitos

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

The Tower of Salvation was a grand structure as always; even in the miasma it seemed to be a most beautiful building, the sunlight gleaming on its smooth stone surface. The tower itself was held up by an invisible force field, generated by magitechnology. The stairs that led to its base were also generated by magitechnology, made purely of mana.

The group headed up to the top floor of the tower, and they finally reached the warp that led to Welgaia. From there, they headed out into the peculiar chill of Derris-Kharlan's air, following the path to the Castle Vinheim.

Once they had entered Vinheim, they stepped forward. Mithos was in the same room he'd been the last time they visited, and he was just as prepared as last time to meet them.

**abc**

"I desire to ask you a question," Kratos said, stepping forward. "Mithos, surely you know of a way for these humans and half-elves to enter the Flanoir region?"

"Only wings of mana may repel the miasma without a crystal," Mithos said. "If you desire to reach Flanoir by air without using Rheairds, I suppose I could be of assistance..."

"However, there will be much pain involved in the process," an angel swordian said as she drifted into the room. "If you wish to access Flanoir, you will have to undergo a test."

"You said I wouldn't have to undergo the test," Lloyd said, turning to Kratos. "What did you mean by that?"

"He will transform you into angels," Kratos replied. "Since you already have wings of mana, you do not need to obtain them yourself."

"Ah, so _that's_ what you meant," Lloyd said. "Thanks anyhow."

"Are you willing to undergo the trial?" Mithos questioned, looking at the group.

At the same time, Genis, Raine, Presea, Sheena and Abyssion said simply, "Yes."

"Then, let it begin," Mithos said. "Follow me."

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Mithos took the group to a room with a peculiar machine in it. The machine was a tall box with a clear glass door in front; this door led to a small chamber that seemed to be unable to hold more than one person at a time. There were various holes and lights inside the chamber, and there were a few peculiar devices on the outside of the machine.

A Raybit floated, at ready, on either side of the machine.

"If we aren't careful, everything will go wrong," Mithos said. "This means that only those who are able to stay still may undergo the test."

"I will go first," Presea volunteered, stepping forward.

"Very well," Mithos said. He quietly walked over to the machine and pressed a button, which caused the chamber door to open. "Go in."

Presea stepped forward and entered the chamber, closing her eyes as she did so. All she heard from the inside of the chamber was the quiet sound of the door closing.

"I figured something like this might happen," Mithos said, smirking. "So I prepared a little surprise for you in case it did."

"Let's just hope it doesn't go wrong," Genis said, closing his eyes. "If it goes wrong... no, I dare not speak of the possibilities if it goes wrong."

Mithos started busily working at the machine's controls; after a while, the chamber Presea was in lit up with various sparkling lights, and the sound of quiet air exchange could be heard. Although it wasn't visible to the group, the Exsphere on Presea's chest started glowing brilliantly, lit up with the energy that was flowing into it.

After a time, the lights faded, and the chamber opened, releasing a peculiar smell that smelled almost like the innards of a mechanical device. Presea turned and stepped out, her body trembling slightly.

"Can you hear me?" Mithos asked quietly.

Presea flinched at the sound; to her, it was several times louder than the volume at which Mithos had spoken, and it, to her untrained ears, was very painful. She nearly stepped back into the chamber, her entire body shaking.

"Don't worry," Mithos said, turning to the group. "She should be okay soon. It's just the effects kicking in."

**abc**

_Presea's P.O.V._

**abc**

The sounds I heard around me... were painful. Intensely painful.

My head hurt as I listened to the conversation around me; my vision seemed to blur for a brief moment before I regained control of myself and realized just how sharply I could see now.

All my senses were greatly heightened... I could easily see the faintest difference in coloration on the wall, or even the faint lighting far above. It was like my eyes had been turned into two magnifying glasses. And that was not all... my hearing was intensely powerful, so powerful that it made my former hearing, however sensitive it was, look weak. Even my sense of smell had improved... I could sniff out the various scents that differed between my companions, much as a dog or cat would.

I wondered how the seraphim managed to tolerate this incredible boost of senses. Perhaps they had received training prior to their transformation into angels.

**abc**

_Third-Person P.O.V._

**abc**

"Presea, are you okay?" Genis asked, walking over to the pink-haired girl and placing a soothing hand on her shoulder.

"Yes... I am fine," Presea replied, her voice shaking as much as her body. "I... think I can tolerate it now. Thank you for your concern."

"Try it out now," Mithos said. "Try your wings."

Presea nodded, and called upon the power her new Cruxis Crystal granted her. Her body was surrounded by a brilliant, glowing aura, and from her back spread wings of mana; they glowed with an ethereal pink light, and had long, thin feathers that were relatively straight and rarely branched. They fluttered softly in the chilled air of Vinheim, casting a soft breeze upon the other members of the group.

The newborn angel smiled suddenly, her eyes brightening. She reached behind herself and felt her hand go cleanly through one of the sparkling feathers; despite seemingly being made of nothing but glowing air, they emitted a peculiar warmth, much as if they were actual physical extensions of her body.

"Thank you," she finally said, turning to Mithos. "They are... beautiful. I can only imagine how much they will help me on our journey."

"So I take it this means you've gotten used to angel senses," Mithos said, laughing ever so slightly. "Yeah, it takes you a while, but you eventually get used to it."

"They're really pretty," Genis said, smiling. "You're like a young angel... except you're not quite so young."

Presea nodded, and decided to attempt flying. Though at first it was quite difficult, she quickly got the hang of it, and was soon wandering about the room, investigating the various devices scattered about.

"Who's next?" Mithos asked, turning to the group.

"I am!" Genis exclaimed happily, jumping into the air.

"Very well," Mithos said, chuckling softly. "Go ahead and enter the chamber... if you think you can take it." He smirked.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

The group soon left Vinheim, having tested out their new wings. At first, they thought it peculiar that they were now able to fly, but they quickly shrugged it off... it was something they'd have to get used to one way or another.

Genis had brilliant, sparkling silver wings of mana; they had long, thin feathers, much like Kratos', except with many more branches, and just seemed... fluffier.

Raine's wings were also of silver; they were brilliantly feathered, with numerous individual feathers that seemed to be shaped like rough diamonds. On the very edge of her wings, there were long, thin, spikelike feathers, which seemed to catch the air in a most peculiar fashion.

Sheena's wings were deep blue, almost midnight blue; they had very long feathers, which were branched, and many of them were close together, with the feathers on the very edges seemingly radiating a brilliant light, like those of Yggdrasill.

Abyssion bore wings of pure shadow; they closely resembled those of Yggdrasill, and he even had the same feathers hanging from his hands.

As a group, the nine angels headed north, off to the snowy land of Flanoir. Using a special technique known only to the angels, they managed to protect themselves from the invading miasma as they flew.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Author's Note: "Tenshi no Mitos" would literally translate to "Angel of Mithos". Mitos is Mithos' Japanese name, in case any of you were wondering.

I know the machine that magically transforms Exspheres into Cruxis Crystals is kinda cheesy, but heck, it's an Author's Universe. I can do whatever the hell I want.

And yes, everybody became angels. Corny as hell, but then again, it's my universe, so...

I'd imagine it'd be very difficult to get used to the increase in senses that angels have.

And Cruxis Crystals can protect against the miasma if they're infused with myrrh. Nah, just kidding... or _am_ I?


	12. Truths of Leviathan

Rising Shadow: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Summary: The Dark Lord Nebilim is spreading the fog of death through the land; a swordsman by the name of Abyssion goes out to find out how to stop this miasma, and also to avenge the death of his parents.

Along the way, he stumbles upon the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd, and his group, and they work together to help defeat Nebilim and restore peace and tranquility to the land.

Author's Note: This is in an Author's Universe, which means that the storyline has nothing to do with the storyline of the game. There may be a bit of out-of-characterness, and lastly, this is a crossover fic (the concept of miasma is from _Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles_). There may be a few Original Characters, which are characters the author came up with to put in the fanfic.

Also, there will be some hints at pairings in this fic (sometimes a little more than hints ;) ): the most notable will be LloydxColette, and there'll also be sprinklings of ZelosxSheena, GenisxPresea and, later on, maybe a little KratosxRaine. I won't spoil the rest for you.

There'll be plenty of game spoilers in this fic, however, it is in an Author's Universe, so much of the spoiler content will have to do with relations and such.

Thank you for the review(s).

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix. All I own is this storyline, this story and my pathetic, writer's-block-afflicted mind.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Chapter 11: Truths of Leviathan

_Third-Person P.O.V._

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Just as Abyssion had thought, Levi had returned to their home in Flanoir. Abyssion enjoyed finally being in his hometown, around what was left of his family.

However, this time he had no time to contemplate. He wanted to speak with Levi as soon as possible.

**abc**

"Leviathan," Abyssion said, taking a seat in the corner. "I thought I told you never to leave Flanoir."

"Seles was suffering," Levi said, crossing his arms. "I couldn't just let her suffer, could I?"

"Yes," Abyssion said. "However, I'm older than you are. You should listen to my orders."

"I know that," Levi said. "But... Seles was suffering. I couldn't just let her suffer. It would've pained my very eyes to watch her suffer like that."

"Hey, what's Seles to you?" Zelos asked as he paced around the room. "She's just my little sister. She doesn't deserve attention from a random half-elf who doesn't even know her that well."

"I saw her about two weeks ago," Levi said after a brief pause. "She's... my friend. I befriended her not long after I met her. And... I couldn't just let her suffer."

"Levi," Abyssion said sternly. "You have had friends before, and you would never leave Flanoir for their sake. Tell me now... _why_ did you disobey my orders? You never behaved like this before, not even towards other half-elves... not even towards me. You risked your own life to save Seles. And you've never behaved like that before..."

There was a long, hard silence, and all eyes turned to the teenager who now sat cross-legged on the floor, his eyes closed.

"...Seles loved me," Levi finally said. "She didn't seem to at first, but... the first time we met, five months ago... she seemed oddly attracted to me. She continued to come over every so often, and she eventually admitted to liking me... since you were the only one I knew in life, I figured that was a good thing."

"Seles isn't one to love," Zelos muttered. "She was always a loner from the time she was born. Except for me, she didn't really care about anybody. She must've been lying."

"I could feel it in her," Levi said. "I knew she was telling the truth... by her aura that day... it was just so calm and peaceful, unlike anything I'd ever felt before. She doesn't act like that normally... I don't see why she'd love me, but I definitely loved her back. She's... special to me."

"I suspected this from the very beginning," Abyssion said. "I... suppose it's alright that you wanted to protect her, but at _least_ make sure you _truly_ love her before you do anything with her."

"Ah, yes," Levi said. "I remember that tale. Don't worry, I'll be sure. Trust me."

"This doesn't make any sense," Zelos said. "Why the hell would Seles like anybody in _that_ way? She never behaved like this before..."

"Maybe she picked it up from _you_," Sheena said, smirking.

"Ah, well," Zelos said. "I guess it's a good thing she's finally realized what the hell that thing called love is. We'll live with it."

"Levi," Abyssion said, looking at his brother. "I apologize for treating you so harshly."

"I'm the one that has to apologize," Levi said. "I left without your permission... I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Abyssion said. "You did it for the one you love. I'm glad you have the guts to be that dedicated to someone."

"Thank you," Levi said, rising. "You've been a great help to me."

"As have you," Abyssion said. "I... haven't had the joy of experiencing such a thing as pure love."

"Yes, I remember," Levi muttered, turning toward the doorway. "I'll take my leave now. You guys don't get into trouble, okay?"

"I won't," Abyssion said quietly, watching Levi leave.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

"So, apparently, Leviathan is in love with my sister," Zelos said. "This'll be an interesting journey."

"It certainly will be," Kratos said. "However... we can't be certain that there is true love there. We'll have to wait and see."

"Let's just hope everything turns out all right," Lloyd said. "We'll have to keep an eye on Seles as well. We don't want her getting into trouble, now do we?"

"Levi can keep an eye on Seles," Zelos said, laughing. "I'm gonna go ahead and take her to Flanoir. Maybe he can keep her for a little while, at least until I come back."

"That should work out," Abyssion said. "I hope he'll be careful about her, though. There are monsters around Flanoir, and we've been attacked once or twice since we started living there."

"You said he knows how to fight," Zelos said. "I think I can trust a man who can hold his own in battle, even if he's a little weak."

"He has an Exsphere," Abyssion said. "He can fight to some extent, certainly enough to fend off a monster or two." His tone darkened. "However, if Nebilim attacks Flanoir while I'm gone, he's doomed..."

"Don't worry, I've got that covered," Zelos said. "Trust me, Nebilim won't be attacking Flanoir anytime soon..."

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

The group decided to head to Asgard to stay the night; once the others had fallen asleep, Genis and Presea decided to head out and stargaze for a bit.

The sky was clear that night, revealing endless twinkling stars as far as they could see. The moon shone brightly on the land, illuminating the sleeping city with an almost perfect light. The quiet whispering of the wind could be heard, blowing through the city ever so silently.

After a time, Genis fell asleep in Presea's lap; she looked down at him, smiling softly as she watched his features. He was so young, so innocent, so naive... and so wonderful.

Holding her most beloved companion close, Presea silently whispered words that were carried off by the wind, barely heard by anyone.

"I love you."

Then, she, too, fell to the warm embrace of sleep, her dearest friend so close to her.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Author's Note: I LOVE CUTE FLUFF! I think it should be obvious enough by now that I like Gesea, and I always will... heheh. There wasn't enough fluff in this story, so I decided to spice it up a bit. I love Asgard.

And... hmm... a new relationship has started. Could this be the beginning of a beautiful love? Or will Seles betray Leviathan, just like Abyssion's former love did? I guess we'll find out...

Oh, and in case you're wondering, Abyssion's around 23, while Leviathan's 16. Seles is supposed to be in the 14-15 range in this fic, which would make the ship perfectly legitimate.

I'm going to be going on vacation in October, so don't expect to hear from me for a while. Unfortunately.


	13. The Fifth Seal: The Earth Renders

Rising Shadow: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Summary: The Dark Lord Nebilim is spreading the fog of death through the land; a swordsman by the name of Abyssion goes out to find out how to stop this miasma, and also to avenge the death of his parents.

Along the way, he stumbles upon the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd, and his group, and they work together to help defeat Nebilim and restore peace and tranquility to the land.

Author's Note: This is in an Author's Universe, which means that the storyline has nothing to do with the storyline of the game. There may be a bit of out-of-characterness, and lastly, this is a crossover fic (the concept of miasma is from _Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles_). There may be a few Original Characters, which are characters the author came up with to put in the fanfic.

Also, there will be some hints at pairings in this fic (sometimes a little more than hints ;) ): the most notable will be LloydxColette, and there'll also be sprinklings of ZelosxSheena, GenisxPresea and, later on, maybe a little KratosxRaine. I won't spoil the rest for you.

There'll be plenty of game spoilers in this fic, however, it is in an Author's Universe, so much of the spoiler content will have to do with relations and such.

Thank you for the review(s).

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix. All I own is this storyline, this story and my pathetic, writer's-block-afflicted mind.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Chapter 12: The Fifth Seal: The Earth Renders

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

The group headed off to the area of the Temple of Earth; they camped outside the temple for the night, and then proceeded into Nebilim's temple. The temple was unbearably dark, lit only by the faint, flickering light of a few lone torches.

There was a single, lone corridor leading to the seal room; it seemed to take forever just to pass through the corridor, and the occasional attack by a few bats didn't help. By the time they reached the seal, Lloyd was already tired of traveling.

They arrived at the seal after a long, hard wait; the altar was surrounded by a solid pillar of rock, and somewhere within they could hear the cries of the Fafnir. All at once the fault beneath the temple activated, and a massive earthquake rocked the temple, breaking the rock and scattering it asunder.

There, floating above the altar, was the Fafnir, encased in its crystal sphere. It, like the other Devil's Arms, seemed to be searching for someone...

**abc**

All at once, the group was overcome by a deep voice.

_You bear the mark of the seraphim,_ the voice said. _You, humans and half-elves, may fight me._

Another earthquake occurred, and a single sphere of earth rose from the altar and exploded in a flash of blinding light. Before the group now stood three creatures... three terrifying, malignant creatures that they hoped never to see again.

The first monster, apparently the leader, resembled Ktugach in shape and size. However, its body was the color of the earth around them, and its crest of spikes was stained with red, perhaps from blood. It bore wings of fire, much like the Ktugachdon at the first seal.

The second monster bore a close resemblance to a wolf; its sleek, canine shape, equipped with menacing teeth, hovered slightly above the ground on crystalline wings of ice. Its body was also the color of earth, and it bore a crest of blades, which swept back, and traced across its back, ending at the base of its tail.

The third monster, the smallest of the three, bore a close resemblance to a horse; its sturdy, muscular body was equipped with two long wings like those of Iubaris, except composed of what appeared to be golden lightning. It bore a horn like a unicorn, but this one seemed rather symbolic of the Nebilim sword itself; it bore the same color and shape. The creature's body was the color of sand, and its body was streaked with darker stripes that resembled bolts of lightning.

"I see you have come to the seal," the first said, in its roaring voice. "My name is Kyracheon."

"I desire no less than a fight," the second said, its voice lighter but still deep and intimidating. "My name is Siberion."

"This temple shall be stained with the blood of seraphim," the third said, its voice seemingly feminine. "My name... is Tyrueon."

"We are the guardians of the Seal of Nebilim," the three said in unison. "We are the Reona!"

"Pretty impressive names," Zelos said. "They seem almost unpronounceable. But thankfully for _you_, we're gonna wipe you clear off the history of Symphonia... and we're gonna stop this treacherous plague that is taking this land by force."

"We will stop you," Abyssion said confidently, drawing his sword. "If it takes us the sacrifice of our very lives, we shall destroy you and break this seal!"

"Go ahead and try," the one named Tyrueon said arrogantly. "We'll wipe you out together."

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Tyrueon had taken up her position in one corner of the room; Kyracheon and Siberion approached from the other side, stalking the group silently.

Unfortunately for the two Reona, Zelos heard them perfectly with his angel senses. He turned and unleashed a Double Demon Fang, which caused both to flinch.

Abyssion decided to attack Tyrueon; he started off by launching a Fire Ball attack, then Demon Fang. As Tyrueon lunged forward to attack him, he dodged to the side, and struck her with a Demonic Circle before jumping back and launching Demonic Chaos at Tyrueon.

Lloyd nimbly dodged the attacks of Siberion, everything from his Freeze Lancer to his Absolute. The Eternal Swordsman, using a special boost from his wings, used Rising Falcon, followed by Sonic Sword Rain, and finally Hurricane Thrust.

Colette headed for Kyracheon, dodging a rain of spikes and using Ray Thrust to flinch the opponent. Then, she floated up on her wings and performed Para Ball, followed almost immediately by Stardust Cross, which sent Kyracheon flying into the other side of the room. The Reona slammed into the wall, but soon recovered and launched a massive stream of fire breath at Colette, which she easily dodged.

All the while, Presea stood in the center of the battlefield, her eyes closed in concentration as she summoned forth angelic power.

"_Divine forces, destroy this evil foe with thy purifying light! **Judgment!**_"

The battlefield was overtaken by the powerful raining beams of judgment as everyone stared in shock at the axwoman. Usually she avoided using spells of any sort if possible, and if she did, they were usually to enhance the statistics of her allies.

Once her eyes settled on her target, Kyracheon, Presea lunged forward, her wings spread. She performed the attack Eternal Damnation, striking the ground powerfully with her ax once and then leaping into the air, doing a somersault in midair, and bringing the weapon down with even more force, sending the earth flying in all directions. Kyracheon flinched for a brief moment, but then pounced on his prey, knocking Presea back.

It was then that Kratos realized Raine was in trouble.

The largely ignored Tyrueon had taken the chance to assault the healer, firing off relentless Lightning Strike attacks. Raine could do nothing but stand and watch as the bolts took over, and she was stunned repeatedly.

_I can't let her die,_ the Cruxis seraph said as he rushed forward. _If I let her die... my hopes will be betrayed._

Kratos rushed forward, using his wings to give him an added boost of speed. As soon as he reached Raine, he stood before her and performed Guardian, fending off a Lightning Strike. Then, he rushed forward and performed Light Spear Cannon, using a spiral cut to float the opponent and then firing a beam of light at it.

Kyracheon decided to do something entirely unexpected. Summoning forth his angelic power, he called forth a spell that was rare among angels.

"**_Retribution!_**"

The light of chaos floated out over the group, striking them down with various afflictions. Raine was unable to move, paralyzed by an unknown force; Kratos, who had been fending off Tyrueon mere seconds ago, was poisoned, and failing fast.

Raine knew what to do. Spreading her angelic wings, she called forth the power of the angels for the first time ever.

"_Sacred light, cast thyself upon these corrupted allies and restore their true form! **Angelic Purification!**_"

A brilliant light shone upon the field, illuminating the faces of all those on the battlefield. It resembled the spell Revitalize, but much brighter, and with a pure, almost crystalline white light, which sparkled and danced with the brilliance of angelic power. The invisible rainbows fell upon the others of the group, restoring their true form, and lastly, the light fell upon Raine, which healed her of her ailments.

Almost immediately, Raine launched into a new spell.

"_Keeper of Life, I call upon thy power to return health to these companions! **Silver Wind!**_"

The battlefield filled with a larger rendition of Healing Wind, sparkling with beautiful silver light and shining like a star in the darkness of the temple. The others felt their strength returning, and once the spell had faded, everyone had returned to their former condition.

"We're not done yet," Kyracheon said, a smirk crossing his face. "As a matter of fact, we've only just begun."

Then, the spikes of Kyracheon, the blades of Siberion, and the horn of Tyrueon started glowing with a brilliant red light. The three beams combined in the center of the room, slowly sinking into the ground.

"I suppose this is their version of a Unison Attack," Zelos muttered. "Well, I guess now would be the time to kiss our sorry asses goodbye."

"Not quite yet," Raine said calmly. "If we can pull through this one, they're toast."

All at once, the three Reona started uttering words in a peculiar language. The flaming red beams converged at the center of the room, and started spreading out beneath the group.

"I think it would be wise to take to the air," Kratos said. "It looks like they're preparing a more powerful attack than usual."

Suddenly, the temple began to shake to its very core. The earth beneath the group began to crack, just as they took to the air.

"_Flames of hell... come forth and destroy this weak foe! **VOLCANO!**_"

The earth suddenly erupted in a massive display of earthen fireworks. Lava flew everywhere, rising slowly out of the hole in the ground as well as being forcefully ejected. The fiery inferno raged for quite a period of time before the volcano sank back into the earth, all traces of its appearance gone.

The attacking group fell to the ground, which was still hot to the touch. Almost half the party had been knocked out, with Abyssion being the only one who had been spared from harm. He floated above the battlefield, calmly whispering words of power.

A dark aura surrounded the seraph as he prepared to fight fire-with-fire.

"_I summon forth the power of the shadows, the darkness which resides in all our hearts, to devastate these foes and rend them asunder! **Dark Judgment!**_"

Abyssion loosed a spell closely resembling Judgment; however, instead of beams of light, these were beams of shadow. The darkness rained down on the Reona, forcing the remaining strength out of them and, as the incantation had stated, tore them apart. Indeed, the very sight was difficult to behold; once the beams had faded and the battlefield became light again, the cavern was partially coated with blood, and there was also blood leaking onto the floor from what remained of the Reona's bodies.

Raine, who happened to still be awake, used Life Bottles to restore the rest of the group to health. There, they headed towards the seal, watching the Fafnir's power be unleashed and the seal breaking.

The Fafnir was selected by Zelos, who stowed it away for later use.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Author's Note: If you'll notice, the only blood in the entire game was the scene with Presea and Regal in Welgaia just before the final battle. And that didn't even look like blood. I decided to make things a little more realistic... when things are basically taken by massive hands and torn to pieces, you'd expect them to bleed at least a little if they were formerly living, right?

Also, don't turn down Dark Judgment just because it's a dark-based spell. It's like Shadow... dark element but still working for good. And I know the angel abilities Raine used were cheesy... Silver Wind is admittedly a name taken from a Pokemon game (I don't own Pokemon or Nintendo and I never claimed to), since I have terrible creativity when it comes to names.

Volcano's about the closest to a U.Attack you're going to get in this fic. I don't particularly like describing them, heh.

As a little side note, don't expect very many Kraine hints in this fic. Kraine hints will probably be in sidestories based in this timeline.


	14. The Sixth Seal: Eternal Blizzard

Rising Shadow: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Summary: The Dark Lord Nebilim is spreading the fog of death through the land; a swordsman by the name of Abyssion goes out to find out how to stop this miasma, and also to avenge the death of his parents.

Along the way, he stumbles upon the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd, and his group, and they work together to help defeat Nebilim and restore peace and tranquility to the land.

Author's Note: This is in an Author's Universe, which means that the storyline has nothing to do with the storyline of the game. There may be a bit of out-of-characterness, and lastly, this is a crossover fic (the concept of miasma is from _Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles_). There may be a few Original Characters, which are characters the author came up with to put in the fanfic.

Also, there will be some hints at pairings in this fic (sometimes a little more than hints ;) ): the most notable will be LloydxColette, and there'll also be sprinklings of ZelosxSheena, GenisxPresea and, later on, maybe a little KratosxRaine. I won't spoil the rest for you.

There'll be plenty of game spoilers in this fic, however, it is in an Author's Universe, so much of the spoiler content will have to do with relations and such.

Thank you for the review(s).

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix. All I own is this storyline, this story and my pathetic, writer's-block-afflicted mind.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Chapter 13: The Sixth Seal: Eternal Blizzard

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

The group headed to Flanoir again; however, this time, it was to release one of the seven seals that guarded the Tower of Destruction. The temple's entrance was relatively easy to find; the snow around it had been melted away, and a small structure was placed in the center.

They headed through the temple, which seemed rather boring. The seal room was a cavern dug deep in the solid rock of the earth, with the interior of the cavern lined with thin sheets of ice. The altar itself stood near the back of the seal room, sealed by the thin sheet of mana that made up all seals. Above the altar, the Heart of Chaos floated, encased in a crystalline sphere much like the other Devil's Arms.

**abc**

Lloyd walked up to the altar and drew the Vorpal Sword, placing its tip on the seal itself. To the surprise of everyone around, the seal was not protected by a force field; the sword reacted to the seal, and there was an explosion that flung Lloyd back.

"Yeah, that was pretty," Zelos muttered. "But where the hell is the seal guardian? I mean, shouldn't he appear by now?"

He got his answer when, quite suddenly, the ice in the cavern began to melt, flowing down to the floor. There, it converged into a ball of ice that floated above the altar. The sphere floated slowly over to the front, and eventually shattered to reveal the seal guardian.

To the surprise of the entire group, the seal guardian was a humanoid; it was female in appearance, with a figure closely resembling that of Celsius. Its eyes glowed a malicious red, and its long, elf-like ears poked out from a mass of shoulder-length, jet-black hair. Its skin was pale blue, much like Celsius; however, it bore no peculiar markings. It was clothed quite simply, with a short sleeveless shirt and a knee-length skirt, both of which were black. It wore a green headband.

However, the most notable feature about the seal guardian was its hands and feet. Its hands had long, sharp claws of ice attached to them, and its feet were like talons, with long and bony toes equipped with sharp icicle claws. Behind it, there were wings of ice, much like those of Siberion.

"You wish to break the seal," the creature said in a soft, feminine voice. "However, I fear you will do no such thing. Lord Nebilim has been expecting you... that's why he sent me. For five thousand long, lonely years, he has expected your coming... and I have been guarding this seal for as long as my natural life." She smirked, crossing her arms. "You can just call me Yvanna."

Kratos glared at the seal guardian, his eyes seemingly alight with fire. "You dared to choose such a horrid name for yourself... you've made a mockery of all things living."

"Ah, yes, I remember you," the creature known as Yvanna said. "I named myself after that pathetic woman Lord Nebilim killed fourteen years ago. Up until then... I didn't have a name. So fortunate of me to have encountered _you_, the former Seraph of Cruxis who put his life on the line for a pathetic, inferior being."

"I do not think that was a wise decision," Abyssion said. "Insulting Anna is the last thing you want to do around Kratos."

"What do I care?" Yvanna said, her smirk growing. "I'm taking you all down... and then I'm killing that pathetic Summon Spirit who thinks she can interfere with Nebilim's plans!"

As everyone drew their weapons, Yvanna's claws began gleaming with an unearthly light. Her face twisted into one of pure evil as she prepared her onslaught.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Lloyd jumped into the air and swooped down, stabbing Yvanna with the attack known as Rising Falcon. The seal guardian quickly whirled around and fired her claws at him, which struck hard enough to send him flying into the wall. Yvanna quickly restored her claws, turning to aim them at Kratos, who was brought down as well.

Zelos performed Hell Pyre, followed almost immediately by Hurricane Thrust. However, Yvanna was too quick for him, and sent him flying into the far wall. Then, she turned to Abyssion, who was charging a spell. Seeing no other way to interrupt him from his concentration, she cast a spell of her own, Freeze Lancer. Abyssion was forced to break his spell to use Guardian in order to avoid being knocked back.

Presea rushed over and used Endless Infliction, followed by Mass Devastation. Yvanna quickly turned to attack the axwoman, but Presea was too fast; she used her wings to float above Yvanna and cast Judgment Ray on the seal guardian.

Genis cast Raging Mist around Yvanna; the seal guardian turned to face the half-elven spellcaster, and prepared to impale him on one of her claws. However, Presea interrupted the foe by using Beast, blowing her away.

Sheena and Colette attacked Yvanna in unison, with Sheena using her Mirage Seal Pinion and Colette using Triple Ray Satellite. The attack was enough to knock back Yvanna, but the seal guardian eventually caught the two female fighters, blasting them away with some form of ice attack.

Kratos managed to recover from Yvanna's previous attack, and in a fit of rage, he rushed forward and delivered a Sonic Thrust, followed by Lightning Blade, then Super Lightning Blade. The attack was enough to daze Yvanna, giving Kratos time to cast Eruption.

Raine attempted to cast Photon, but was interrupted from the attack by Yvanna's Dark Sphere. Seeing this, Genis decided to cast Flame Lance, but was also interrupted by a Dark Sphere a mere second later.

Abyssion finally managed to get himself in gear again, and used Demonic Circle, immediately followed by Sonic Thrust. This angered Yvanna, who turned to knock the sword out of his hands; however, the dark seraph somersaulted over Yvanna and used Super Sonic Thrust right in her back.

It was then that Yvanna decided to _really_ attack the group.

"_Dark Lord Nebilim, lend me the freezing chill of the dark abyss below! I summon forth the power of the eternal blizzard! **Absolute Zero!**_"

The entire room was filled with an intense cold that nearly froze everyone solid with its sheer intensity. Then, the ice was shattered, and the chill faded from the air almost completely.

"Whoa, that was a really cheesy attack," Zelos commented. "Couldn't you think of something a little more... y'know... _cool_?"

Yvanna responded by impaling him on one of her ice claws.

"Guess you're not too fond of puns, huh?" Zelos said calmly. "Well, I have a special little treat for you..." he stuck out his sword and managed to touch the tip of it to Yvanna's skin. "**_Flame Sword!_**"

The blade of the sword started glowing red-hot, filling with fire mana. Then, suddenly, the sword seemed to explode, blasting Yvanna off of Zelos and allowing him to right himself.

"That hurt," Zelos said annoyedly. "I don't think you should do that too often..."

Raine had nothing to do but cast First Aid on him; this was enough to close the gaping hole in his midsection (which had barely missed impaling a few vital organs), but he was still left with the pain, much to his chagrin.

"Yvanna is a bloodthirsty monster," Kratos said as he slowly backed away. "We have to be careful if we have any hope of surviving-"

He was cut off by a most unexpected voice.

"**_AGARAZIUM!_**"

A magic circle appeared beneath Yvanna, and a pillar of prismatic light launched her into the air, sending her flying into the wall of the seal room.

Yvanna looked at the doorway, and by one simple glance, her worst suspicions had come true.

"Pronyma," the seal guardian said. "What in Niflheim are you doing _here_? And why did you just attack me?"

Indeed, the half-elf of the group Lloyd opposed was standing in the doorway, floating a mere inch above the ground. She held a battle staff of sorts, and glared vehemently at Yvanna.

"Nebilim is a fool," Pronyma stated simply. "He always wanted to take over this world... but he failed to realize that it is futile to take over this world with Mithos in charge!"

"You traitor!" the seal guardian shouted, launching herself forward on her crystalline wings. "You deceived Lord Nebilim! You always fought for us... but in the end, you betray us!"

"I really wish to see you defeat me," Pronyma said, smirking. "After all, I have the one thing you don't have."

Pronyma cast Dark Sphere on Yvanna, stopping the seal guardian right in her tracks.

Much to Lloyd's surprise, two angel swordians flew into the room and attacked Yvanna.

"Stand back for now," Pronyma called to the group of seraphim. "I'll handle her!"

As Lloyd quickly found out, Pronyma handled things quite well; Yvanna had fallen in a matter of mere minutes, having been swarmed relentlessly by the angel swordians.

The group stepped up to the seal and watched it break; the Heart of Chaos was taken by Raine, who pocketed it for later use.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Since it was getting late, the group decided to head back to Flanoir, Pronyma in tow. As they returned, they decided to converse.

"Pronyma, what led you to betray Nebilim?" Lloyd asked, looking at the half-elf female.

"Nebilim is a fool," Pronyma replied. "He's a demon, born in Symphonia and raised in Niflheim. He thinks he can take over this world, but he was unaware of the fact that seraphim are much more powerful than demons."

"So you're siding with the strongest," Zelos said. "Sounds like something I'd do."

"I also know Yggdrasill," Pronyma said. "He was a friend of mine for quite a while before I joined the Desians. I tried to persuade the other Desian leaders into leaving Nebilim behind, but they were just too stubborn." She glared at the ground. "Fools..."

"Well, if you knew Yggdrasill, why did you join the Desians in the first place?" Zelos asked. "I mean, if you believed in Nebilim's ideals in the first place, why are you calling him a fool now?"

"I was led blindingly by Nebilim," Pronyma replied after a brief silence. "He promised to give me a high position in exchange for the lives of seraphim. I originally agreed to it, since I once thought I was indeed a superior being... but Yggdrasill was what brought me back to reality." She sighed. "I cannot avoid Cruxis... and I would much rather be with them than with the Desians. Mithos is a much kinder leader than Nebilim... Nebilim merely has a thirst for blood. He does not intend to end the attack on half-elves."

"I don't particularly like you, but I guess I can trust you," Lloyd said. "That was a little too close for comfort."

"You saved our sorry butts back there," Zelos stated.

"I was only doing my job," Pronyma said, smiling. "I was defending you for Yggdrasill's sake. There's no reason whatsoever to ignore you in time of need."

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Author's Note: I bet this was an unexpected plot twist. I'm not a big fan of Pronyma, but on the other hand, I actively support PronymaxYggdrasill (ya don't see _that_ every day, do ya?). Besides, some of Pronyma's techs are really cool.

The quest to break the seven seals is almost over... did ya notice? Huh? Huh? ...alright, I'll shut up.

As a side note, my favorite (sorta) of the Desian Grand Cardinals is Forcystus. However, he doesn't have someone he's incessantly glued to in the game, so I couldn't have _him_ betray Nebilim.


	15. The Seventh Seal: Fallen Power

Rising Shadow: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Summary: The Dark Lord Nebilim is spreading the fog of death through the land; a swordsman by the name of Abyssion goes out to find out how to stop this miasma, and also to avenge the death of his parents.

Along the way, he stumbles upon the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd, and his group, and they work together to help defeat Nebilim and restore peace and tranquility to the land.

Author's Note: This is in an Author's Universe, which means that the storyline has nothing to do with the storyline of the game. There may be a bit of out-of-characterness, and lastly, this is a crossover fic (the concept of miasma is from _Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles_). There may be a few Original Characters, which are characters the author came up with to put in the fanfic.

Also, there will be some hints at pairings in this fic (sometimes a little more than hints ;) ): the most notable will be LloydxColette, and there'll also be sprinklings of ZelosxSheena, GenisxPresea and, later on, maybe a little KratosxRaine. I won't spoil the rest for you.

There'll be plenty of game spoilers in this fic, however, it is in an Author's Universe, so much of the spoiler content will have to do with relations and such.

Thank you for the review(s).

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix. All I own is this storyline, this story and my pathetic, writer's-block-afflicted mind.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Chapter 14: The Seventh Seal: Fallen Power

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

After spending the night in Flanoir, the group (sans Pronyma) traveled south to Nebilim's seventh temple. They knew that the Tower of Destruction would soon be revealed, and they would soon face the Dark Lord Nebilim.

Using a Blue Candle, they headed through the deep, dark temple. There were relatively few battles, and those that did occur were rather brief, much to the surprise of the group.

The seal room was a very large, dark cavern. The only light in the entire room radiated from a peculiar blue force field about the altar.

**abc**

_Eternal Swordsman,_ a voice said, addressing Lloyd. _Speak your name._

"My name is Lloyd," the swordsman said. "Why do you ask?"

_You intend to fight me,_ the voice replied. _I must know your name to fight you. Now, Eternal Swordsman... behold my power!_

The Disaster finally appeared, floating above the altar in its crystal sphere. The entire seal room shook, and a black sphere appeared before the altar. From that sphere emerged the seal guardian.

The seal guardian took the form of a massive wyvern; its body was jet black, with midnight blue wings and glowing red eyes. It bore long, sharp claws, and fangs that put those of an ordinary dragon to shame. A line of sharp, curved, jet-black blades ran down its back, ending at the very tip of its tail.

And it looked at the Eternal Swordsman with a look that could only be called hungry.

"You seek the blood of Nebilim himself," the seal guardian said. "But you shall not get past me... Abysseus!"

"Say what you will," Kratos said, drawing his wings. "Any dark being who dares to fight against a seraph of Cruxis shall surely meet their fate!"

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Lloyd used Twin Tiger Blade on Abysseus to see if he could drag it to the ground; however, the seal guardian retaliated by spewing a stream of dark flame at him. Lloyd fell back almost immediately, but then tried to get back by performing Rising Falcon.

Presea ran over to Abysseus and performed Resolute Infliction, successfully bringing the foe down; she then performed Rising Punishment, followed almost immediately by Mass Devastation.

While Abysseus was still down, Kratos rushed forward and performed Fierce Demon Fang; he then pulled off a quick Light Spear before leaping back and casting Grave. However, Abysseus quickly caught on, and spat a ball of static at Kratos, knocking him back.

Abyssion tried to pull off a Victory Light Spear, but was knocked back mid-attack and sent flying into the wall. Abysseus then dove at Zelos, swinging a bladed tail at him and throwing him into a wall.

Sheena, seeing this, attempted to get back at Abysseus by performing Demon Seal; however, the seal guardian merely shrugged off the attack, and proceeded to cast Bloody Lance on Sheena, weakening her.

Genis cast Spread on Abysseus, launching it into the air; however, the seal guardian simply used the momentum to dive at Genis and knock him back in what resembled a massive Rising Falcon.

"How pathetic," Abysseus said, glancing at Lloyd. "Not even the mighty Eternal Swordsman can stop me."

"Call me what you like," Lloyd said. "But I'm not stopping this attack until the seal is broken!"

With a sound that resembled a snicker, Abysseus fired a stream of pure shadow at Lloyd, which overtook him and practically began to suffocate him until it faded.

"You have no choice," Abysseus said. "Stop the attack now, or die."

"Cruxis will never lose to a pathetic being such as you!" a new voice called out. "You shall die with the others of Nebilim!"

Lloyd turned to see if he could identify the newcomer, but it was already too late for Abysseus.

"**_RAY!_**"

A shining sphere of light appeared over Abysseus, and started firing numerous beams of pure light all around the seal guardian. The attack was relentless, and it lasted almost half a minute before the mana faded.

"Nice try," Abysseus said. "But I'm afraid Cruxis won't be existing anymore once I'm done with you."

The whole of the attacking group turned to face the doorway of the seal room; there stood the others of the Four Seraphim, Remiel and a pair of angel swordians. Yggdrasill floated rather absent-mindedly in the doorway, while Mithos, with rainbow-colored wings attached to his back, stood next to Yggdrasill, and Yuan, bearing rough purple wings, was standing on the other side of Yggdrasill. Remiel floated in front of Yggdrasill, and the two angel swordians hovered on either side of him.

"Your ignorance is without bounds," Yggdrasill said, closing his eyes and smirking. "But I'm afraid you won't live to see the day that you are no longer ignorant... all those who stand in my way shall _perish_." With that last word, he cast another Ray on Abysseus, knocking it back.

"Say what you will," Abysseus said. "Even if you do somehow manage to defeat me, Nebilim shall crush you and your pathetic Cruxis... he shall destroy the Tower of Salvation and free Derris-Kharlan from this world. He will destroy the Giant Kharlan Tree, and he will kill off all of your pathetic angels... and he will enslave all the humans, elves and half-elves remaining on this world, turning them into objects of evil."

"You will do no such thing," Mithos stated. "I'll kill you _myself_ if you or Nebilim even _dare_ to lay hands on the Tower of Salvation."

"Arrogant brat..." Abysseus muttered. "Well then, kill me... if you can!"

Abysseus launched his stream of darkness at the seraphim in the doorway; however, Remiel easily deflected it with a defensive barrier.

"You are merely a foolish tool of Nebilim," Remiel said. "If you ever so much as _dare_ to lay a hand on anyone of Cruxis, you shall face a most painful death."

"Tough talk from a lower-class angel," Abysseus said, smirking. "You _are_, after all, the one who wanted to become one of the Four Seraphim after Kratos left."

"I'd say you're on the same level as that idiot Rodyle," Yuan said. "If it weren't for him, Nebilim's power would never have been known."

"Someone's getting desperate," Abysseus said. "Comparing _me_, the most powerful of the seal guardians, to a lowly Desian? Feh. If you don't believe in my power, I'll show you it myself!"

"Not if I show you myself," Yggdrasill said as he teleported in front of Abysseus. "You want to fight me? So be it... fight me. And don't hold back like you did last time!"

Abysseus launched a stream of dark fire at Yggdrasill, but the seraph merely blocked it with a shield of light. Yggdrasill retaliated by casting Holy Lance, which caught Abysseus off-guard.

From a safe distance, Yuan cast Thunder Blade on Abysseus, pinning it to the ground; Yggdrasill took advantage of the opportunity to cast Prism Sword, which sliced the guardian's wings clean off.

"Don't even try anything funny," Mithos said. "Without your wings, you're as blind as a bat."

"I'd like to have you know I don't need my wings," Abysseus said. "I'm taking all of you down!"

With that, Abysseus loosed an attack that resembled Prism Sword; however, it struck with black energy, and radiated an immense amount of dark mana, which overtook the seraphim and knocked them back.

"You think you can defeat me," Abysseus said. "But you're completely wrong. I won't fall so easily to a weak group of _angels_!"

"I think you should put on the asbestos underwear," Zelos said, smirking. "Because pretty damn soon, you're gonna be burning in hell!"

With that, Zelos started calling upon a new spell; feathers of mana rose around him as a silver aura appeared below him.

"**_DIVINE..._**"

A circle of pure light mana appeared beneath Abysseus.

"**_...JUDGMENT!_**"

The circle filled with flashing rays that resembled the beams of judgment; the display was more than enough to overwhelm the eyes of the onlookers.

Light mana radiated from the intense spell with almost as much fury as Indignation; the spell pummeled Abysseus mercilessly for a full minute, burning holes in its light-sensitive skin and tearing through its flesh with ease.

Everyone gaped at Zelos.

"It was easy as cake," the redhead said, grinning. "I couldn't very well let all our efforts go to waste, now could I?"

"Zelos, thank goodness you're okay!" Sheena suddenly said, running at Zelos and hugging him. "I was so worried about you..."

"You don't have to worry about _me_," Zelos said. "Frankly, I was more worried about _you_. I mean, you weren't screaming like the violent demonic banshee you usually are, now were you?"

"You idiot," Sheena muttered, allowing tears of gratitude to fall down her face.

"Hey, not bad, Zelos," Lloyd said, glancing at Zelos. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"The seal is broken," Abyssion said, stepping forward. "Look at it."

Everyone turned their heads to see the force field around the altar fade and the seal release; the Disaster broke free from its hold and floated in front of the altar, awaiting someone. Genis chose it, putting it away for later use.

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

A sudden shaking overtook the land as the Tower of Destruction rose from the ground south of Hima.

"I see the seven seals have been broken," Nebilim said. "Well then, my challengers... I await you."

**abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz**

Author's Note: Sorry about the lack of updates. I've been rather blocked on this fanfic lately.

Well, next chapter, they're heading to the Tower of Destruction to take on Nebilim! This is gonna be interesting...


	16. The Final Battle

Rising Shadow: A Fanfic by Gyppy

Summary: The Dark Lord Nebilim is spreading the fog of death through the land; a swordsman by the name of Abyssion goes out to find out how to stop this miasma, and also to avenge the death of his parents.

Along the way, he stumbles upon the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd, and his group, and they work together to help defeat Nebilim and restore peace and tranquility to the land.

Author's Note: This chapter will conclude _Rising Shadow_. I'm trying to decide whether I should write a sequel or not. But anyway...

Yeah, this is the last chapter. It's my longest fic yet, and definitely one of the more popular ones. Though compared to _Love At First Sight_, it's nothing...

And I may be introducing some new and unexpected characters in this chapter... the revelation is about to begin. But... I won't tell you now. You'll have to find out later.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix. All I own is this storyline, this story and my pathetic, writer's-block-afflicted mind.

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Chapter 15: The Final Battle

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The shadow of a half-elf was cast upon the dark terrain. In the dark, one mechanical eye glowed, while one crimson organic eye watched the surroundings. Light teal hair fell around the figure's head, coming to just above his shoulders and framing his face on either side. One of his arms was replaced by a large, yellow-colored cannon-like device. His clothing had been torn apart, and with the exception of what covered his legs and the rest of his lower body, it lay on the ground, tattered. He looked hurt, but didn't seem to notice it.

He was angry. Extremely angry.

And he continued to walk slowly through the forests surrounding the Tower of Destruction. He continued to walk toward that lone village in the mountains... perhaps it couldn't even be called a village, as it was composed of only one structure, but it had been given that name by the adventurers who travel about Symphonia.

This half-elf was angry for a reason... he had been thrown out of his home near Iselia for being an incompetent fool. He would make that pathetic demon pay...

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The group proceeded on to their destination, the Tower of Destruction, after spending the night in Asgard. The tower, which had risen from the ground with a massive earthquake that rattled all of Symphonia, stood in all its jet-black, gleaming glory, towering over even the mountains around Hima. Six jet-black pillars encircled the base of the tower, with a massive staircase of dark mana leading up to its doorway. The tower itself was like the Tower of Mana, with a few major exceptions: its base was not as wide, there were jet-black horns jutting from each corner of each story, and it was far taller... it reached up into the clouds, gazing upon all of Symphonia. And atop the great tower was that peculiar abyss... it swirled with darkness, radiating the deadly gas known as miasma and throwing it across the land.

Within that abyss lay the Dark Lord Nebilim, the creator of the miasma, and a demon lord from the Underworld.

Lloyd seemed uncertain about fighting Nebilim, but Kratos convinced him everything would be alright. So they traveled to the massive Tower of Destruction to climb its stairs and destroy Nebilim once and for all.

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"So this is the Tower of Destruction," Lloyd said, gazing upon the dark building that lay before him. "It's really creepy."

"That's to be expected," Sheena said. "It is, after all, the stronghold of a demon."

Colette had occupied herself by staring into the giant pit that lay below the tower. Genis, meanwhile, was worrying his little head off that she was going to fall into the abyss.

"We should get going," Kratos stated. "We wouldn't want to be stuck in this area at night. It's too dangerous."

"Alright," Lloyd said. Then, he turned to Colette. "Let's go."

Colette ended up leading the group as they carefully ascended the towering staircase that led into the tower's heart.

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Two feathered wings fluttered lightly in the darkness as an angel swordian traversed the shadowy terrain of Derris-Kharlan. Behind her was Yggdrasill, who floated slowly along, his eyes closed in contemplation. However, by some mysterious angelic sense, he could still figure out where he was; he was nearing the warp that led to Welgaia, and ultimately to the Tower of Salvation.

With Pronyma on his side, he was sure he would be able to strike a decisive blow on Nebilim. He wished to aid his brother in avenging their sister... _for Yuan's sake as well,_ he thought silently as he drifted along, remembering Yuan's strong connection to Martel. Once the demon was once again sealed in Niflheim like he'd been so many thousands of years ago, Yggdrasill knew that the world would achieve peace once more.

Four thousand years. Yggdrasill, his brother, and his two comrades... had been alive for quite a long time.

Remiel had since been escalated to the position of Seraph. Though he had not been intending for such a thing to happen in the first place, he knew that he now played a very important role in Cruxis. He was weak compared to Yggdrasill, but he felt he still had the strength necessary to protect Colette. As he would reminisce about his past days as a lifeless being, he would shiver even in the relative warmth of Vinheim... everything had seemed so foreign to him then.

Once Yggdrasill had reached Welgaia, Mithos greeted him there and followed him through to the Tower of Salvation. Yuan had already reached the ground, and Kratos was with Lloyd's group. Pronyma had stated she had to leave for reasons involving the Desians, which confused Yggdrasill... he had never suspected that Pronyma would involve herself with the Desians after openly betraying them.

Yuan, however, had other, darker suspicions... he thought that Pronyma had simply switched sides to obtain information and return it to Nebilim. It seemed a simple enough tactic, and could be easily carried out by a high-ranking half-elf such as Pronyma. He had thought it bizarre that she would've betrayed the Desians and Nebilim in the first place if she actually had good intentions, so he continued to distrust her.

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The staircase was long and winding... it seemed endless. For what seemed like hours, Lloyd and the others traversed silently through the black, hazy tower, seeing only by the light of angel's wings. However, the climb had been relatively uneventful... with the exception of a few attacks, there had been little fighting, except a quarrel between Zelos and Sheena that had lasted quite some time.

Finally, they reached the top room. Lit by a blazing torch on the far wall, it seemed to glow with the same aura of fire that the torch carried. The top was covered by a clear, glass-like dome, with swirling orange mist on the outside. Nebilim stood in the center of the room.

Abyssion could see the same darkness in those eyes he had seen so many years ago. He could still trace the same marks on Nebilim's face, the crest of a demon. He still remembered the very same strands of glowing crimson hair that had whirled about the demon lord as he murdered the human and elf that had produced Abyssion in cold blood.

And now, Nebilim stood above Abyssion, his armor glowing with the demonic aura of fire. Though most demons in Niflheim bore the dark element, Nebilim was a master of all the elements, and preferred dark and fire.

On either side of Nebilim, there was sheathed a blade, both of which floated in midair eerily. The left-handed one had a long, curving structure that almost seemed alive, writhing with a peculiar lifelike motion; the right-handed one was a long, pyramid-shaped blade with edges at each of the four corners, and bore the jaws of mouths that had been torn out of innocent victims and cursed to remain on the weapon for the rest of its life.

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"So, you've come," Nebilim said, glancing down evilly at the group that lay before him. "I must appreciate your efforts to get here. I'm surprised my Apocalypse didn't tear you apart the second you came upon it."

"It doesn't matter," Lloyd said. "What matters is that we're taking you down!"

"Not if I take you down first," Nebilim said, an evil smirk crossing his face. Almost instantly, the Devil's Arms that had been collected by the group vanished, and reappeared before Nebilim, floating about him.

One by one, the weaponry vanished into the demonic realm. All that was left was the twin blade, named Nebilim after its owner and creator.

And Nebilim slowly drew those two swords from their sheaths, holding them before him, beckoning for the others to attack him.

For the very first time in their lives, the entire group, as a whole, felt the collective wave of fear run down their spines. Kratos, for once, thought they may perhaps be defeated.

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The room was lit with various offensive spells and techniques as a vicious battle raged. Lloyd and Kratos came up on either side of Nebilim; Lloyd delivered a Double Demon Fang, while Kratos followed up with a Fierce Demon Fang. In an incredible display of skill, Nebilim calmly blocked both attacks with his twin blade, then brought forth the Soul Eater and performed Victory Light Spear, which knocked both of the two comrades back.

Sheena's Demon Seal seemed particularly effective against Nebilim; however, the Dark Lord retaliated with a Hurricane Thrust that sent Sheena flying. She just conveniently happened to fly into Zelos, who caught her and quickly cast First Aid on her. The guardian user then proceeded to jump forth and attempt another attack.

Colette finished her Angel Feathers just as Genis cast Judgment. The two angelic attacks struck the opponent dead-on, sapping his strength with light energy. However, Nebilim refused to give up; he retaliated by launching Demonic Chaos, one at Colette and one at Genis.

Presea rushed forward and delivered Mass Devastation, followed by Eternal Damnation. Nebilim proceeded to draw Diablos and retaliated with Eternal Devastation, which Presea was unable to block; it sent her flying into a wall.

Raine managed to catch Nebilim off-guard by loosing a Photon; however, the demon lord retaliated with Holy Lance, loosed from the Heart of Chaos. Raine was pushed back, but managed to right herself at the last minute by drawing her wings.

Zelos, after making sure that Sheena was okay, rushed forward and performed Fierce Demon Fang, followed by Hell Pyre. Both attacks struck dead-on, dealing a fair amount of damage to Nebilim, who retaliated by drawing the Fafnir and performing Hell Pyre on Zelos.

Abyssion charged out of seemingly nowhere to stab Nebilim in the back; however, the demon lord was prepared for the attack, and quickly drew himself from the blade, turning almost impossibly quickly. Nebilim drew the Evil Eye and performed Ring Cyclone, then switched to his trademark twin blade and used Raging Beast.

Kratos, who had managed to right himself again, loosed Retribution; however, the attack had little effect on the lone opponent, doing little more than disabling the ability to heal properly. Nebilim simply brushed away the seraph as if he were a lone maggot.

Nebilim turned to Lloyd, his primary target. He began preparing Indignation, all the while thinking of the sheer power he possessed...

...and suddenly, out of absolutely _nowhere_, there came the voice of a half-elf that _no one_, not even Nebilim himself, had expected.

"**_CYCLONE!_**"

The massive tornado that overtook the demon lord broke his concentration; he was thrown about like a toy in the twister, unable to even think of what was happening. But it was not so much the power of the Cyclone that distracted Nebilim; rather, it was the sheer surprise of hearing the voice of his most trusted comrade call out the name of the spell and loose it upon him.

At the last minute, Lloyd looked up, opening his eyes slowly, expecting to see death. Instead, he saw in the doorway of the room... all five of the Desian Grand Cardinals, with Pronyma in the lead, Forcystus and Kvar behind her, and Rodyle and Magnius trailing behind. On Pronyma's left-hand side, there floated Mithos; on her right-hand side, there floated Yggdrasill. Beside Mithos, there was Yuan; beside Yggdrasill, there was Remiel. And there were two angel swordians and two angel spearmen following the group.

"It was foolish of me to ever suspect anything of Pronyma," Yuan commented, drawing his wings. "All she wanted was Yggdrasill's respect. It's almost as if she's so dedicated to him, she's willing to betray her own leader for his sake."

"You're all dead," Nebilim muttered, finally loosing himself from the grip of Forcystus' spell. "You, especially... for turning a blind eye to me and joining that pathetic, worthless Cruxis!"

"I'm not a member of Cruxis _yet_," Forcystus said, smirking. "I'm just working _with_ them. And don't you remember, _you_ initiated this yourself by kicking me out of the Iselia ranch?"

"You were an unworthy leader," Nebilim said. "You _allowed_ those humans to escape."

"I've always had great respect for Cruxis," Forcystus said. "They seek ways for half-elves to be accepted... in manners that would _never_ be expected by a supreme ruler from Niflheim."

"You _betrayed_ me," Nebilim said, finally turning. "You _betrayed_ me to join those psychotic angels in their attempts to destroy the miasma. Don't you realize that we could put an end to the half-elf discrimination if we all became demons and joined those in Niflheim?"

"Sounds like that crazy Age of Lifeless Beings idea I came up with," Mithos muttered. "It's a good thing I chose to abandon _that_ one. It was my most pathetic attempt yet."

"I'll kill you," Nebilim stated. "I'll kill you... or at the least, force you to come to Niflheim with me... and to live out the rest of your lives as demonic creatures of hell!"

"You will do no such thing," Remiel said. "You're already defeated, yet you refuse to admit it." He smirked. "Face it, you're just as weak as one of those pathetic young demons of Niflheim. I could probably defeat you now, as we stand here and converse."

Remiel didn't allow Nebilim to reply. Instead, he simply fired off Judgment Ray, which struck down Nebilim with amazing speed that not even Yggdrasill could've predicted.

However, the demon lord rose again, shouting the words, "I may die... but I'm taking all of you with me!"

With that, Nebilim loosed a massive Ground Dasher. The attack rattled the chambers of the Tower of Destruction, rattled the structure to its very core... and what was worse, it slowly overtook the very outer shell of the structure, causing the structure to collapse. The seraphim managed to escape with ease; the former Desians had more difficulty, but managed to avoid the crumbling tower's fury, and escaped onto the ground.

As the tower fell, the burning fog of death that covered the land began to evaporate, flowing into the depths of the earth along with the Tower's remnants. And with the destruction of the tower, the hole in the ground sealed, showing no sign of the horrible structure that had once stood there... except a charred, smoking hole, one that burned with the last traces of fire from Nebilim's sword.

Kratos glanced down at the crater and smirked.

"And now, you shall feel the pain of those inferior beings... as you burn in hell."

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Author's Note: Yep... that's the end. Well, for now. If I do write a sequel, it'll have more fluff. It might even carry the dubious last rating. Either way, I bet you saw that last part coming the moment you read about Forcystus in the beginning XD

Yes, the Devil's Arms were destroyed, and Nebilim was once again sealed to Niflheim. The miasma disappeared, and all is well. And yes, I just simply _had_ to add that Kratos quote in there. It freaking rocks.

In case you're wondering, Mithos started to carry out the Age of Lifeless Beings, but then decided to abandon the project when he saw how the half-elves were suffering. When the new Desian leaders came about (the currently known 'Five Grand Cardinals'), they turned to Nebilim, but Pronyma later betrayed him. After a bit of convincing speech and one convenient expulsion, the other Grand Cardinals decided to join in on the action. I hate Magnius and Kvar with a passion, but heck, they can't be _too_ bad since they have some cool techs.

You're probably wondering how a mere spell could cause the Tower to collapse. Well, you gotta realize that this is pure demonic energy we're talking about here. It's coming straight from Niflheim itself, and can charge up the spell to incredible proportions. And since Ground Dasher essentially causes a giant earthquake... well, you draw your own conclusion.

And another note. Niflheim isn't the same as Hell in this story. In this story, Niflheim is simply the home of demonic beings, who achieved power in much the same manner as angels... and, of course, with the mutated mana that exists in that dimension. Hell is more like the Christian depiction, with infinite torture and all that jazz.

And for those of you who were wondering what ever happened to that kid Abyssion had... well, don't worry, I'll feature _them_ in a later story. ;)

And... wooh. That was one _hell_ of a long chapter. It definitely beat out my other chapters in sheer length. I was trying to add drama and suspense to the story, but, as per usual, I failed miserably. But still... enjoy, and just keep waiting for the sequel.

I have a really, _really_ sinister plan for the sequel. I won't reveal it entirely, but it involves shoujo-ai. And the enemy. ;)


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